The Strength of Blood
by Mattrimion
Summary: Alexander had no idea who his parents were, he didn't even have a last name. Join him as he Becomes a Ninja, joins an unlikely team and finds out there is strength in his blood that no one ever expected, not even himself. This story will follow Canon loosely, I'll be making a few changes along the way. OC Main Character, Twin Uchiha and Fem-Naruto.
1. Prologue

**The Strength of Blood**

 **Prologue**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was fighting the worst enemy know to man, Paperwork. He still couldn't understand how Minato. His now deceased successor was able to finish all his paperwork and still get most of the day off. Though it could be argued, that Hiruzen could've finished a lot sooner himself. If only he didn't keep getting distracted by his book. The book in question was called 'Icha Icha Paradise'. Most people considered it to be nothing but porn, but to Hiruzen and a select few others namely his Student Jiraiya who was the Author, and a certain one eyed scarecrow. The book was a work of art.

This particular evening he was finalizing the paperwork needed for the Ninja Academy. Hiruzen looked over a sheet of paper detailing all the students who had enrolled and would be starting tomorrow. His eyes immediately picked out his surrogate granddaughters name, Minako Uzumaki. His lips curved into a fond smile, Hiruzen knew how much Minako wanted to be a Kunoichi it was her dream, well that and becoming the first Female Hokage. A few other names jumped out at him as he continued down the line of names, it seemed quite a few Clan Heirs would be starting their path to becoming Ninja. Choji Akimichi, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara and finally the Uchiha twins Sasuke and Satsuki. There was one last name to catch his eye; it was at the very bottom, Alexander.

Unlike the other kids on the list, Alexander had no last name, and was an orphan to boot. Most orphans pick their own last name if they don't have one, or adopt the name of the family that had adopted them. If Alex had wanted to he could have been adopted a hundred times over, but Alex refused to either be adopted or take a last name.

Hiruzen made it a point to visit the Orphanage every once and awhile to visit Minako, and even with all those visits he had only met the boy once, and from what he remembered Alex was polite but quite never speaking unless necessary, It was very easy to forget he was even there at times. He also appeared to be anti-social, always sitting in the shade of the large tree behind the Orphanage while the kids played together preferring to read a book rather than join in, and he was also the only one who didn't pick on Minako which was a plus. His appearance also set him apart from his peers; sometimes you could look at a person and say they resembled one person or another not so with Alex though. Red hair, ice blue eyes and a light skin didn't leave many options.

The only person Hiruzen could think of that had red hair was Kushina Uzumaki, though even she didn't have the blood red color that Alex did, plus the fact she had been pregnant with Minako at the time ruled her out, and since she was the last Uzumaki, (before Minako was born) A clan that was well known for having red hair, it left quite the quandary on who Alex's parents were.

Pulling himself out of his musings, Hiruzen signed off on the list of names. He had a feeling that things at the academy wouldn't be the same for the next four years, with all the can heirs attending and Minako's love of Pranks, (a trait she had inherited from her mother) and the wild card that was Alex. The next Four years looked to be quite interesting.

If he only knew, he might not have signed off on that list of names so quickly.

 **A/N I know I haven't really been writing recently. My muse go's in and out, and I'm distracted very easily. But please know that I haven't given up on any of my story's, they just might not be updated very often. Now I know this is a short chapter but it's just a Prologue to get the ball rolling, the next chapter will be longer. So until next time R &R. P.S only this story and a few characters belong to me the rest dose not. **


	2. Chapter 1

The Strength of Blood

 **Chapter One: Year 1**

Alexander sat alone in the empty classroom. The classroom was quite large with the outside wall lined with windows. It was built to seat Twenty-Seven not including the teacher, who would stand behind or to the side of a podium that was in front of the large Blackboard that covered the wall behind it. The students were grouped Three to a desk, the desks were set up Three across and Three up. The floor was slopped see the people in back could clearly see the Blackboard as wells as the instructor easily. He had chosen the seat in the back by a window, so he would be furthest from the door. He had his feet propped on the desk with his fingers interlocked behind his head, as he listened with half an ear to the ceremony going on outside through the open window. Some might ask why he wasn't outside with the rest of his year mates, in truth he had listened to these ceremonies for the past Three years, and they were all basically the same. It was to welcome the new Academy students and to wish them luck on the path to becoming Ninja.

He was only listening now incase anything new was said. After all a lot of clan heirs were beginning their time at the academy, even though Alex was sure they all have had private teachings since they could hold a kunai. Well that and it never hurt to be cautious. The only difference was that it seemed to be caring on longer than usual, or maybe that was just him. On the outside he may appear calm and relaxed, but on the inside he was restless. He wanted the class to start, or at least a good book to pass the time. Not for the first time he asked himself if he was Ninja material. The only reason he was here was because he had been told that had good instincts, and would make a good Ninja and Alex believed that if you were good at something you didn't shun that skill, you cultivated it. Thinking back, he could still remember the night he was told he would make a good Ninja. After all when you kill someone it's not something you forget easily.

Three Years Ago:

 _Alex knew he shouldn't be out this late. So he was taking back alleys and side roads to get to the Orphanage faster. The head lady at the Orphanage would likely give him a stern talking to when he got there, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the book that the nice, but weird frog man had given him. "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi" so deep in thought was he, that he never noticed the man until he collided with him. Dazed Alex looked at the man that he'd run into, and immediately he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The man wore all black, and his face was shrouded but what drew Alex's eye was the Kumogakure headband that had fallen out of presumably the man's pocket. This man was a Ninja from the Village Hidden by Clouds, and judging from the bag over his shoulder he was stealing something, Alex was so screwed._

 _The Masked man gave a short chuckle, "I manage to sneak in and out of the Hyuga compound, a clan renowned for their sight, only to get caught by a kid out past his bedtime" then he sighed, taking out a Kunai. "Nothing personal kid but I can't leave you alive."_

 _The man seemed to disappear before Alex's eyes. Something flared in the back of his mind, and Alex kicked off from the ground propelling him backwards. Right into the Kumo Ninja who was about stab him in the back, catching him off guard. They tumbled to the floor, still following the feeling in the back of his mind Alex rolled to the right avoiding a blur hitting were his heart use to be. That same heart was threatening to beat right out of his chest, instead of continuing to roll away, Alex changed direction rolling back. Using his momentum Alex threw everything he had into his left elbow as he stuck the man's temple. As the man fell over from the blow Alex followed him, his right hand catching the object the man had tried to ram into his heart 'a Kunai' using his left hand to add extra strength Alex drove the blade into the man's chest hitting his heart dead center, and just like that it was over._

 _For a few minutes Alex was deafened by the rush of blood in his ears. He stared like he was in a trance at the man's eyes which were widened in surprise, before slowly draining of life. Abruptly he came back to the world, his brain just realizing what he had just done. Pushing himself off the dead man, Alex Scrambled away until his back met the side of a building. Still staring he became aware that his hands were wet, raising them so he could see in the moonlight, they were covered in blood. Quickly wiping them off on his pants, Alex became aware that he wasn't alone anymore. A figure was now crouched over where the Kumo Ninja had dropped his burden during the scuffle. Getting a closer look Alex realized it was an Anbu though he didn't recognize the Weasel Mask. Finished with what he was doing the Anbu turned to Alex. "That was well done, without your interference this man might have made it outside the Village with his stolen charge." He stood aside letting Alex see the young girl sleeping peacefully, unaware of the events transpiring around her. She couldn't have been more than three or four years old._

 _Slowly getting to his feet Alex scoffed, "You and I both now you would have caught him before he even reached the wall. You couldn't have been far behind him with how fast you got here."_

" _I might have, but then again I might not, either way you still helped. Even if you had no choice in the matter" he paused for a moment and seemed to listen. "We're about to have company. You should go; this isn't something you want to be caught up in at your age." He was right Alex remembered the man saying he'd managed to sneak into the Hyuga Clan Compound which meant this girl was someone of importance; she could be the clan Heiress. But no, the Clan Heiress was Seven the same age as himself. Maybe it was her little sister, the age was about right. Regardless the fallout was not going to be pretty. As Alex turned to leave however the Anbu spoke one last time. "You might consider becoming a Ninja when you're older. The Village could always use people with your instincts."_

 _Not another word was said as Alex made his way back to the Orphanage in a daze, try as he might he just couldn't get his head out of a daze, even the Head lady's scolding barely reached him as he made his way to his room before collapsing on his bed._

Present time.

He had refused to come out of his room over the next few days, the death of the Kumo Ninja still fresh in his mind. Eventually he came to terms with what happened, though when he came out of that room he was a different person. The old him hadn't killed a man, watching as the life drained from his eyes. He had never thought of becoming a Ninja, but he was told he had a talent and you don't waist talent.

The sound of a door opening brought Alex out of his reminiscing. Glancing at the door he saw a man walk in, he was of average height and build with brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a scar across his nose. He wore the standard Konoha Shinobi outfit complete with sandals, forehead protector and flak jacket.

The man didn't notice him until he was sorting the papers on the podium, at which point he gave a slight start clearly not expecting anyone to be in the room. They stared at one another for a time before Alex went back to looking outside, he could hear the instructor begin organizing his papers once more and there was a moment of silence before the door opened once more as students started arriving. He removed his feet from the desk instead choosing rest his elbow on the desk and using it as a prop for his chin as he leaned forward. He barely spared a glance at the kids who joined him at his desk.

The whole classroom was buzzing with noise as the kids talked excitedly to their friends. The Instructor cleared his throat, but nobody heard him besides Alex. He tried once more to the same affect, he took a deep breath and Alex put his fingers in his ears. Good thing to or else he might have gone deaf from the volume of the man's voice.

"SHUT UP!" the classroom quieted instantly. Seeing he had everyone attention the instructor cleared his throat again and Alex felt it as safe to unplug his ears. "Welcome to the Academy, my name is Umino Iruka and I will be your instructor for the next Four years, now when I call your names please raise your hand" he brought up a clipboard and began sounding off names.

Alex ignored most of it only really paying attentions when the clans Heirs were announced. "Aburame Shino" a boy with bushy brown hair and sporting sunglass with most of his face hidden by the upturned collar of his sea-green coat, raised his hand. "Akimichi Choji" a heavy set boy with spiky brown hair, Swirls marks on his cheeks, wearing a scarf while eating a bag of chips, raised his hand briefly before going back to his snack. Hyuga Hinata" a girl with short dark blue, with chin length strands framing her face, wearing a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the left and right sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem. She bashfully raised her hand. "Inuzuka Kiba" the boy with messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils, pronounced canine teeth, and the distinctive red fang marking of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks, with a dog atop his head, raised his hand. "Nara Shikamaru" the boy had shoulder length black hair tied up into a ponytail which kind of looked like a pineapple, he raised his hand only halfway before letting it fall. "Uchiha Sasuke" ever girl in the room besides Hinata ooohhed and awed as a boy with blackish blue hair that stuck up in the back and bangs chin length bangs that framed his face, he raised his hand. Alex felt like slamming his forehead into the desk, he felt that this would be a common occurrence around the boy. "Uchiha Satsuki" she was clearly Sasuke's twin the only difference being that while she had the same bangs, it didn't sick up in the back, she instead had it pulled into a ponytail that fell to her shoulders. She too raised her hand. "Yamanaka Ino" a girl with her long blond pulled into a high ponytail, except her bangs which covered the right side of her face, raised her hand. This until his name was called, which just happened to be last. "Alexander?" Alex raised his hand; Iruka looked at him before glancing at his clipboard. "I'm sorry, but I don't have your last name written here"

"I don't have a last name" that got him a few strange looks from his peers. Iruka nodded his head in understanding before launching into a speech about how they were beginning their journey to becoming Ninja today and that they would have to work hard from here on out. When he finally finished his speech he gave a loud clap startling everyone who had begun to doze.

"Now, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu." He wrote on the blackboard. "These classes are accentual to every Ninja. You will have other classes but these are your main Three. "He then went about explaining what they were. "Taijutsu class will focus mainly on training you body, the life of a Ninja is hard and you must train your body for it, when your body is sufficiently trained we will begin teaching you the Academy Taijutsu style. However this style is not mandatory some of you have clan styles to master, but for those who aren't part of a clan it will be a stepping stone for you to improve on. Next is Ninjutsu class where we will be teaching you how to mold your chakra, use hand seals and later down the road we will begin teaching you Jutsu's. And lastly you have Genjutsu here we will be teaching you how illusions work also to determine if you are tapped in a Genjutsu as well as how to get out of one. Of course these aren't the only things you will be learning here, Weapon Handling, Shinobi History, Stealth, Trap Making and Basic Survival Training, are all subjects you will be taught. Now, any questions?"

Alex was the only one to raise his hand. Iruka gestured for him to continue. "What about Fùinjustsu and Elemental Affinities?"

"That's a good question; Elemental Affinities and Fuinjustsu are not taught at this academy. You're Affinities you will likely learn once you become Chunin maybe Genin if you lucky. Fùinjustsu however is another story. Fùinjutsu is by far one of the hardest and most Dangerous Arts out there. From what I know there are twelve levels and only a hand full of people make it past level Five, fewer still make his past level Six not only because how hard it is, but because they died. In Fùinjutsu making the smallest mistake will kill you and that is why few people have even considered learning it" Iruka let this news sink in before continuing will the class.

The lecture continued until lunch at which point the bell rang. "When you get back we will begin some history" the classroom groaned as they left the room.

Alex waited for the crowd to die down around the door and hallway outside before leaving himself, being in a crowd of people always made him uneasy. When he finally made it outside, he immediately sat under the tree that was furthest away from everyone else. He didn't have to go far though; everyone seemed to be gathered around the Uchiha Twins. A fact which they looked rather annoyed about. Forgetting everyone else for a time, Alex pulled a boxed lunch from his bag. It was a simple lunch of Beef, Broccoli and Rice. Even before Alex had left the Orphanage to live on his own, not an easy feat at his age mind you. He had always cooked for himself, Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner, it didn't matter.

Alex was just about to lift the first piece to his mouth, when he heard a stomach grumble. Looking up he noticed a girl under a nearby tree, she was hugging her knees to her chest. It was kind of hard not to see her. She wore a kill me now Orange jumpsuit. He'd seen her before at the Orphanage before she was kicked out for some reason. Her name was Natsumi Uzumaki; she had blue eyes, peach color skin with three whisker marks on each cheek and long blond hair that she had put in to two pigtails. She looked thin a lot thinner then she should have been. Alex looked down at his lunch before looking back at her. He was hungry but she looked hungrier, sighing he stood up and walked over to her. She didn't notice him approach she was too busy watching the other kids with a look of longing.

He set the box and chopsticks down softly beside her. She didn't even seem to notice him. He made his way back to the classroom stopping briefly to look back. He saw her digging to his lunch with gusto. He may have been hungry but she looked starving.

The rest of the day past quickly and before he knew it he was back in his Apartment in the red light district. It wasn't the best district, but the housing was cheap and that was he wanted. It was kind of funny he shared an entire apartment complex with Natsumi. She had an apartment somewhere near the middle floor of the building. You'd think with him being on the top floor they'd meet on the stairs or something, but they never did. If the property owner hadn't mentioned she was there when he signed the lease for a room, he'd never have known she was even there.

The apartment was a simple one bedroom apartment was simple. The front door led into a Kitchen slash dining room; from there it led into a living room with a door leading to a bedroom, which had a small bathroom attached. Alex took a shower and brushed his teeth before going to sleep.

That set the pace for the next week. Every day he would wake up early go for a run, come back have breakfast then head to the Academy. After a few weeks Iruka went from desk to desk handing out a set of Kunai with holster and Shuriken he said that they would be graded at random to make sure they took proper care of their equipment. Afterward he'd do some light fitness training as was recommended by Iruka. He'd then make his way home make dinner do any homework he had, then he'd take a shower and go to bed. Then wake up and repeat. Any free time in the day that came up he filled with training, whether it was more fitness training or practicing with the set of Kunai and Shuriken that Iruka had provide. Nothing changed until the weekend marking his first month at the academy.

Alex still got up early and went for a run before breakfast. But instead of more training like he usually did, he decided he would take the day off since he'd been doing nothing but training for the past month. He got dressed in his usual attire consisting of black Anbu pants, standard Shinobi sandals, a simple black shirt and black fingerless gloves. He chose black mostly because it was harder to see most stains on black. On his way out the door he strapped a Kunai Holster around each thigh and around his waist went a belt with three Ninja pouches, one on either side and one on the back. The ones on the sides were filled with shuriken. The one on the back was larger and filled with Ninja wire and other odds and ends; he locked the door behind him.

Alex decided since he still had some leftover Ryo after the month's rent and his cupboards were already well stocked. He decided to buy something for himself, and so it was off to the bookstore. Some people would ask why a bookstore, the answer was simple Alex licked to read. He already had everything else he needed so he would indulge in something and buy a new set of books. He wasn't going to his normal bookstore, he'd heard about a small out of the way bookstore that had a collection of old books. And they weren't kidding when they said out of the way. It took him an hour just to find it, squished in-between a Ninja supply shop and a grocery store. It was an old bookstore called Momo's books. As he opened the door a small bell rang somewhere in the back. What surprised Alex was how clean it was inside. From the outside it looks old and dusty, but now that he was inside he was surprised to find relatively clean. It was a very cramped store, with books stacked anywhere they could fit, be it bookshelf table or floor. That was another thing, for such a small store just from one glance told him there were hundreds of book. To a lot of people it might just be a mess, but to Alex it was like Candy land.

Alex's attention was drawn to the old man slowly making his way towards him, trying to avoid the stacks of books. He had long white hair that fell to his shoulders with a beard that continued down to mid-chest. His face was heavily wrinkled and his eyes were a dark blue. He wore a Civilian Kimono and relied heavily on a cane. "Hello there youngster, come to browse me collection or just make fun of an old man?" his voice was soft, but firm.

"Of course not, I remembered hearing about this shop and thought I would take a look." Alex said. "So can I take a look around?"

A glint seemed to appear in the old man's eyes. "Eager look around I see, go ahead. Who am I to stop a fellow book lover?"

Alex began moving around the store, scanning the shelves and going through piles. "Perhaps not a love of books specifically, more of the knowledge and the skill that can come with it" he picked up a random book from a stack, before tossing it back. "Though I'm not opposed to the occasional pleasure reading …" his voice trailed off as he noticed a blue and black book in the middle of a pile. It looked out of place amongst the older books. Uncovering it Alex traced a finger along the cover. It was an Ocean Blue book with Black writing and Swirl above the title. 'Understanding the Art of Fùinjutsu'. By Ashina Uzumaki, Written by Mito Uzumaki. The name Uzumaki jumped out at him. They were masters in the art of Fùinjutsu. He only recognized one of the names however. Mito Uzumaki was the wife of the first Hokage and a Specialist in Fùinjutsu. He was curious why it was by Ashina, but written be Mito.

Opening the book Alex found a note on the first page.

 _I write this book in memory of my late teacher, Ashina Uzumaki. Who will forever be known to me as Sensei, for even I could never surpass him in the Art of Fùinjutsu. These are his teachings. Every word engraved into me from day after day of his teachings. My life slowly comes to an end but I can't let his teaching die with me. So to whoever finds these books I will both congratulate you and warn you. I congratulate you because you have managed to see through the powerful Genjutsu I have placed on these books, and I warn you. The path of a Fùinjutsu Artist is long and dangerous, and should you choose to walk it I wish you luck, Mito Uzumaki._

Alex frowned. There wasn't a Genjutsu on this book. Maybe it had worn off over the years. He was told it could happen. "Find what you looking for?" the old man's voice just about had Alex jumping out of his skin. Whirling around Alex saw the man standing there with both hands clasped on his cane.

"Ya, can I buy this book?" Fùinjutsu had always interested him and even if it didn't there was no way he was going to leave a book of this value to rot in a store.

The man grabbed the book from his hands and looked it over, before giving it back. "I don't see why not, that's what it's here for. Do you want just the one book? I have the whole series around here somewhere." He cast a glance around the shop. "All though, it might take me awhile to find them"

Alex set the book on the only clear space he could find which was a counter by the door with a stack of magazine and a stool behind it. "Do you mind if I look for them, I mean I'm already here and who knows I might find something of equal interest along the way."

The man gave a sweeping gesture. "Go right ahead and the names Momo if you need anything." He then proceeded to sit on the stool behind the counter and start reading one of the magazines.

And thus Alex began his search. Skimming through shelves, digging in piles, going through boxes, he did it all. Hours past but he kept on searching and slowly, one by one he managed to track them down. Every time he found one he would set it on the counter with the others, before going back to his search. He found the Seventh book first, then Three, then Nine, then Eleven and so on. The last book he found was Ironically Book One. As he set the last book on the counter Momo put down his magazine and stared at the Thirteen books now stacked in front of him in amazement. "You know when I said go right ahead, I didn't think you would manage to find all of them."

It actually wasn't too hard, just time consuming. All the books were the same color Ocean Blue with Black writing, and that stuck out like a sore thumb. So all he had to do was look at the color before moving on. If he had to read the title on every single book he had gone through, he would still be looking. Alex scratched the back of his head. "When I focus on something I get it done, no matter how long it takes."

"I can see that." Momo said dryly. "You know after watching you work hours on end to find these books. I just wouldn't feel right charging you. So here, from one Bookworm to another." He sealed them all into a scroll and handed it to Alex. "I know you'll take good care of these books." Alex Accepted the scroll thanked him and left. As the door closed behind his latest costumer, a smile spread across Momo's face. "Good luck young man, you're going to need it. It's a very dangerous road you about to walk."

As the door closed behind Alex he looked at t the sky to see the sun already setting. He had spent all day inside that bookstore, but it was a day well spent in Alex's opinion. His stomach chose that moment to grumble. Using the money he was going to spend on books, he instead used it to buy a quick bowl of Ramen at, Ichiraku's Ramen before he went home. It wasn't till he got home the Academy the next day, did he have enough time to start reading.

Alex unrolled the scroll on his bedside table and pressed a finger to the seal releasing the books inside. He made himself comfortable on his bed before grabbing, 'Understanding Fùinjutsu' and started reading. Just a few Pages in when hit a wall. It seemed using Fùinjutsu Required Chakra, something he hadn't unlocked yet and wasn't supposed to learn how to do until next year at the Academy. Sighing he started putting the books away, when he frowned. He only got Thirteen books, so why did he have Fourteen? Picking up the extra book he read the Black and White cover. 'Chakra from Beginning to End' as he opened the book a small note fell out. " _You are going to need this. Good luck, Momo."_

It looked like he was going to have to pay Momo another visit in the near future. Storing the Fùinjutsu books away in the book shelf near his bed, Alex hopped back on the bed and started to read about Chakra.

 _Chakra is created when two other forms of energy, known collectively as one's "stamina", are molded together. Physical energy is collected from each and every one of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise. Spiritual energy us derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. These two energies becoming more powerful will in turn make the created chakra more powerful. Therefore, practicing a technique repeatedly will build up experience, increasing one's spiritual energy, and thus allowing more chakra to be created. As a result, the ninja is able to do the same technique with more power. This same cycle applies for physical energy, except the ninja needs to increase their endurance instead._

 _At any given time, a ninja will have a "maximum" amount of chakra that they can for and use before it runs out and the need to rest to replenish it. With practice this maximum can be increased, but to a certain extent they are limited to the quantity and strength of chakra that their genetics grants them._

 _Each person's chakra is different and as such gives off a unique signature, which sensor type ninja are able to detect. Chakra signatures are passed genetically, allowing a person's clan to be identified by their chakra; over time, entire populations can have perceptibly different chakra. Ones chakra signature can be altered be absorbing DNA from multiple people, mixing various chakra signatures to become a whole new one. Each person's chakra also has a unique "color" that can be seen by those with dòjutsu. Chakra signatures that ore similar to each other will resonate when near each other. Even if they are separated, changes made to the chakra signature of the original will result in the separated chakra mimicking those changes._

Alex continued to read until he reached the part on how you unlock you chakra. It appeared to be Farley simple, you just had to meditate and feel for your chakra which was located in the stomach. Crossing his legs, Alex rested his hands in his lap and closed his eyes. Breathing slowly he tried to find his chakra. After a few minutes he felt warmth, he followed it to its source. Griping his chakra he gave it a tug… nothing happened, so he tried again. Still nothing, growing a little impatient he gave it a hard jerk and was not prepared for the outcome. The force that his chakra spread through his pathways knocked him unconscious. He never noticed the Purple chakra engulf his body.

 **A/N hello again, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please R &R and have yourself a wonderful day. P.S. I own nothing from the Naruto Universe.**


	3. Chapter 2

**The Strength of Blood**

 **Chapter Two: The First Summer**

Alex awoke late the next morning. Glancing at his alarm clock he cursed, he was two hours late for class. Since he was still dressed from yesterday all he had to do was brush his teeth, before hurrying to the academy. After a few stern words from Iruka, Alex took his seat in the back. He was still tired from the night before, unlocking his chakra must have taken a lot out of him. The day seemed to drag on, a boring history lesion, kunai and shuriken practice and some physical workouts. Finally the day ended and Alex headed home making brief stop to pick up some writing equipment and scrolls. He had dinner before taking a early shower and retreating to his bed for some more reading.

As Alex looked through 'Chakra from Beginning to End' he saw a small warning that he hadn't notice the night before.

" _When unlocking your chakra, you should pull on it gradually easing it through your chakra pathways. Do not jerk or the impact of the chakra rushing through your pathways will leave you drained and may cause unconsciousness. Proceed with caution."_

He scoffed, sure now it tells him. Putting the book away Alex grabbed 'Understanding the Art of Fùinjutsu' and read through it. The book said he should practice his writing till he could copy the symbol that was on the page perfectly in less than thirty seconds, if done correctly the symbol should light up. His first try came nowhere close and the symbol didn't even light up. He sighed at least he had something he could practice while learning how to mold his chakra. With this new addition to his work load, classes and his personal training, the academy year just flew by.

In the remaining Eight months of the Academy year, Alex remained in the upper Seventy-Five percent of the class. He also perfected his writing and was already starting Level Two Fùinjutsu, finishing the first Level in a little under Six months. He now knew how to create Sealing Scrolls of any size and was now learning how to make Reaction Tags, which covered any Tag that reacted when chakra was applied such as Explosive Tags and Barrier Tags. It seemed he had found another thing he was good at. He also learned that the Powerful Genjutsu that Mito had placed on the books was still active. To anyone else the books appeared to be useless old notebooks, which looked like they were scribbled in by a Four year old. The only people who knew otherwise were himself and Momo who had given him the book on Chakra, so he must have known what the books contained. When Alex had learned the Genjutsu was still active he had returned to the bookstore to ask Momo why they could see through the Genjutsu and no one else could. Sadly when he got there he learned Momo had decided to take one last trip through the elemental Nations before he died, leaving his assistant in charge of the store. Leaving him hanging, it was not a feeling Alex was unused to though. So he did what he always did and put it the category to ask at a later date.

Molding chakra was going very well to; he had already mastered the leaf concentration practice, which consisted of sticking a leaf to his forehead and keeping it there with chakra alone. He was now working on balancing one on each of his fingers. Unlike the concentration practice which was to get you used to the concentration required to mold your chakra. Balancing one on each finger refined your chakra control. The greater your Chakra control, the less Chakra you wasted using Jutsu's and other Chakra required Activities. He would later switch leafs out for small rocks, which would steadily get bigger as time wore on and after that was Kunai balancing. But he wasn't there yet.

Alex was sitting in his usual chair. With his now constant desk mates, Shikamaru who just wanted a seat in the back, so he could sleep and Shino who was quite except for the occasional buzzing from his colony of bugs. As a whole they were three quietest people in the class. They had just turned in their final test for the year and were waiting for Iruka to finish collecting all their answers.

"Well here we are, at the end of your first year here at the Academy. Continue to practice what you have learned and I'll see you September First." He smiled. "You should be proud; you have all taken your first step in becoming Ninja. If you have questions this summer don't hesitate to come to me, my door is always open to you." The bell rang and Students ran for the doors, eager to start their summer. Alex left at a more controlled pace, the day might have been over for all of them but Alex still had something to do. He absentmindedly fingered the piece of paper in his pocket to make sure it was still there.

The paper was a job notice from a local supply shop, 'The Iron Forge'. They were looking for someone who could make Sealing Scrolls and Reaction Tags. This was a perfect job for Alex; after all he basically got paid for practicing Fùinjutsu. The shop in question mainly sold high quality Weapons, Armor and other gear.

When Alex entered the shop he was surprised to find it mostly empty, except for a few people in line at the cash register. So he waited for them to finish as he wondered the store. This shop had everything, Kunai, Shuriken, were all neatly packed into shelves. A few sets of armor were on display. There were also Katana's, Tonto's and Wakizashi's resting on racks. He'd heard that this store specialized in costume orders, but it looked like the carried some standered Weaponry too. He also noticed one of the shelves seemed to be quite bare, with only a few Sealing Scrolls and Tags to say what used to be there.

"Can I help you?" Alex jumped; he hadn't noticed the man behind the desk had finished with the last of his customers and was now watching Alex.

"Are you the owner?" Alex would have to watch his words carefully; after all he was only Eleven years old, getting this job would not be easy.

"I am. Kenshin Yamada, proud owner and smith of 'The Iron Forge'" he crossed his arms. "What can I do for you?"

Alex walked over, fished the job notice out of his pocket and set it on the desk. "I was wondering if this job position was still open and if so, would you consider hiring me?"

Kenshin looked skeptical. "You know Fùinjutsu? You look a little young to be practicing such a dangerous Art."

Alex shrugged. "I'm already training to be a Ninja, which is a dangerous lifestyle onto itself. Why can't I practice something just as dangerous? But I do take precautions, I'm not an idiot."

Kenshin sighed. "Your straight forward kid and I like that, but even if you can do what you say you can. I can't hire you. If you had your headband circumstances might be different, as it is though you're a minor and just can't hire you."

Alex thought for moment. "You might not be able to hire me, but how about an alternative" seeing he had Kenshin's attention, he continued. "What if I made the Scrolls and Tags then sold them to you; from there you would mark up a reasonable price and sell to you costumers. That way I'm technically not working for you, I'm just selling you Items I have no use for. What do you think?"

"That might work." Kenshin reached under the counter, retrieving a blank Scroll and brush set. "But this all depends on your ability to do what you say you can" seeing what he was suggesting, Alex grabbed a brush dipped it into the ink and wrote a perfect Seal, before wiping off the brush and replacing it. Kenshin's eyebrows almost touched his hairline. Grabbing the brush set, Kenshin sealed it into the newly made Scroll. He waited a few moments then unsealed the set, the Scroll had worked perfectly and this kid had written it in under Thirty Seconds. "What's the soonest I can start expecting supplies?"

In reply Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a Scroll, which he unrolled on the table. Tapping the Seal, Alex unsealed three Scrolls. One was the common use everyday foot wide Scroll, the next was Two foot Scroll and finally the uncommon Three foot Scroll. "These hold Twenty of each size. I'll start the Exploding Tags tonight. Give me a week and I'll have the Tags as well as some more Scrolls ready."

"That sounds good and in the mean time I'll keep looking for a full time employee, to help fill my Storeroom and keep it supplied while you're attending the Academy. Now to business, I'll give you 30Ryo for the Small Scrolls, 70Ryo for the Medium and 120Ryo for the large, so a total of 4400Ryo." He handed Alex the money. 4400Ryo might seem a lot for a bunch of Scrolls, but Alex knew the small ones would sell for 60 the medium would sell for 100 and the large for 150. Which meant Kenshin just made 1800Ryo.

"You're right about needing an employee while I'm at the Academy, but I'll fill your storeroom by the end of the summer by myself." Alex said as he took the money. "Thank you for your time and see you in a week." Alex waved goodbye.

As he left the store Alex began to plan his summer. If he could make a minimum of 5000Ryo a week, a number he could easily reach with the combination of selling Sealing Scrolls and Tags. That would more than pay for his monthly rent on his apartment, which was 3000Ryo a month. That meant he could use the rest to refill his Fùinjutsu supplies, buy spare Ninja gear and food. He would of course be saving a third of what he got every week, anything could happen and he might need the extra cash. That and even though his apartment was good, he would eventually like to buy a house for himself. He wouldn't be able to buy a house till after he became a Shinobi, but at least he'd have the money to buy one or maybe he would build one himself, if done correctly it would save him money and it would give him something to do when not on missions, training or practicing Fùinjutsu. Taking a liking to the thought Alex made a mental note to keep an eye out for any suitable empty plots of land.

And so Alex's summer began in earnest. His schedule was simple. Awake by 5am, go for a run, eat breakfast at the training grounds then train till lunch. After lunch he would practice fùinjutsu and then take some time making sure to fill his quota for the day so he would have plenty to turn in to Kenshin every Wednesday. By then it was dinner time. After dinner he would take a walk in the cool night air, he found the Forest around Konoha very relaxing at night. It was on one of these nightly strolls that Two things happened, One: he got an answer to a question, but earned a new one in the process and Two: one of the Villages strongest clans would never be the same.

Alex walked lazily through town, already missing the comfort of the forest. He had decided to take a detour through the clan district to prolong his quiet walk just a little longer. His peaceful stroll came to sudden stop however when he noticed a front door to one of the compounds was left ajar. It wasn't so much the partially open door that made the hairs on the back of his neck standup, even though a Clan compound door is always locked and under guard. It was the fact Alex could see a foot keeping the door open in the evening breeze. Reaching down he pulled a Kunai out of his leg holster and held it at the ready, as he slowly approached the door. The sight that met his eyes made dread swell in his stomach. The foot that was keeping the door open belonged to a fully outfitted Shinobi, his throat was slit and a Senbon was sticking out of each eye. Now a normal Eleven year old boy would have screamed and ran as fast as they could to get away, but Alex wasn't a normal boy. He had already seen death, he was even the one t cause it. So instead of running Alex took a deep breath, he pushed open the door and entered the Uchiha Clan Compound.

He found the other guard right inside the door, the Compound would have looked fairly normal for anyone who didn't have Alex's sharp eyes, which picked out the prone body's of other dead Uchiha. He slowly made his way across the front yard, which would have been fairly nice if dead Uchiha weren't littering the ground. The path from the door led to the front do of the main house, before splitting three paths. One continued to the front door. The other two went around and disappeared to either side, no doubt leading to the other houses that surrounded the main house.

Slowly sliding the front door open he stuck his head inside, only to find the same result. More Uchiha lined the halls, men, women, children, it didn't seem to matter they all were dead. It was about this time he began to question himself. " _What the hell am I doing?"_ He thought. " _I find what seems to be the entire Uchiha Clan massacred and I have to take a look around, what is wrong with me"_ any further thought was stopped dead when he heard voices coming from the courtyard. He dashed to the courtyard, only to stop dead at the scene.

Itachi Uchiha. The prodigy of the Clan stood in front of his siblings, Sasuke and Satsuki. Satsuki was on her knees in tears, while Sasuke stared in shock at his older brother. In a blink of an eye Itachi was in front of Sasuke. Without even touching him Sasuke collapsed to the floor. Itachi then turned his attention to Satsuki who was still in tears unable to move as Itachi repeated and she collapsed as well. The whole thing was over before Alex could register what was going on. "You're the last person I would have expected to be here Alex" Alex Recognized that emotionless voice. Itachi Uchiha was the Weasel Unbu he had met that night four years ago. "Why have you come? I've watched you when you take your late night strolls and this Compound is nowhere near your usual rout." Itachi had been watching him during his walks, ok that was kind of creepy.

Seeing no reason to lie, there was little chance he would be walking away from this one alive. His only chance was if Itachi decided to put him under a Genjutsu, like he did with his siblings. "I decided to take an alternate rout tonight and stumbled upon your little adventure." Alex said and then added in afterthought. "You left the front door open by the way"

Itachi turned to face him. Alex knew what a fully matured Sharingan looked like. Plenty of Uchiha had flaunted them around the Village. But Itachi's Sharingan were different. Instead of having three tomoe in each eye, he had what looked like pinwheels. "I see your interest in my eyes, you notice there unlike other Sharingan. These are called Mangekyò Sharingan, they are the next level. Few have ever earned them." In the blink of an eye Itachi closed the distance, Alex's instincts barely had time to flare before his Kunai was yanked from his hand and he felt cold steel rest against his throat. "The question I now face is whether I should kill you or not."

Alex glared up into Itachi's eyes. "If you're going to kill me do it. I won't beg or plead for my life." He felt the pressure increase from the Kunai but instead of killing him, Itachi took a step back still maintaining eye contact. "Tsukuyomi" the pinwheels in Itachi's eyes spun for a fraction of a second but that was the time it needed. Alex froze, before his eyes drifted closed and he crumpled to the ground.

Itachi stared down at him. "Your life does not end tonight Alex. You may not know it, but I see the Will of Fire burning strong in your eyes. The question is, will it still burn after you wake up? We shall just have to see. Train hard, you're going to need every skill you can get it in the years to come." And with those words Itachi Uchiha vanished into the night.

Slowly counting to ten after Itachi left Alex cracked an eye, before sitting up completely. He clutched his chest as he breathed deep breaths, trying to get his heart rate back under control. " _I just played possum with a guy who just massacred his whole clan."_ he thought. He still couldn't believe it actually worked. His shoulders began to shake, before he dissolved into pure laughter and laugh he did.

He didn't know how long he sat there laughing, but eventually the laughter died away as his mind began to think over what just happened. Itachi had cast the Tsukuyomi on him, that was supposed to be one of the strongest Genjutsu's in the world and yet like the one on the books it had no effect on him. He had begun to suspect that Genjutsu's had no effect on him, but this put the final nail in the coffin. He now had two choices, tell someone about his ability and most likely let the whole Village know of it or keep it secret and use it to his advantage. He went with option number two. It was too great of an advantage to let it get out.

Now came the second topic on his mind. He sat in the middle of the Uchiha Clan Compound in the midst of massacre. No matter how he looked at it, he didn't see this ending well for him. So after checking to make sure Sasuke and Satsuki were ok and making them more comfortable, he doubted it would help much but he did it anyway. He left them resting against the tree in the courtyard nest to the pond. On his way out the Compound he noticed at least a quarter of the dead Uchiha had Senbon sticking out of their eyes like the guard's out front. He had the feeling they were all members who had awakened their Sharingan. Those Senbon would make sure the Sharingan could never be salvaged, was that why Itachi had done it? Deciding to put a pin in that line of thought he would thing about it later, Alex hurried home.

It wasn't till he was sitting on his bed after his shower that he began to think about Itachi's last words. " _So he saw the Will of Fire burning in my eyes huh?_ " he thought. " _I guess we'll have to see about that. I wonder what he meant when he said he would need all the skill he could get in the years to come, was he talking about me becoming a Ninja? No his words were far more ominous then that."_ Alex didn't like the ominous feeling he got from Itachi's words, it made him think a storm was coming and a big one at that. So with that line of thinking he fell asleep, at least he had found his reason for becoming a Ninja in tonight's adventure. Minako could have her dream of being Hokage of the Village and Alex would become its protector. He would be a buffer from oncoming the Storm. Konohagakure was his home and he would not give it up without one hell of a fight.

 **A/N Hello again my readers, I present to you the second chapter of 'The Strength of Blood'. Next chapter: Alex begins his Second Year at the Academy and makes a troublesome friend. Please R &R and P.S. I own nothing form the Naruto Universe. Also I noticed that my title is off center when I post chapters, how do I fix that? **


	4. Chapter 3

The Strength of Blood

 _ **Chapter Three: Halfway to Genin.**_

The summer had ended on a low note for the Village as people mourned the loss of the Uchiha Clan. The Twins Sasuke and Satsuki were taken in by the Shinobi elders Koharu and Homura while the compound was cleared and all the bodies buried. They also were appointed to watch over the Uchiha estate until Sasuke turned Sixteen and could assume the position of Clan Head.

Alex noticed how all active duty Shinobi and Kunoichi alike scrambled around, doing mission after mission. He wondered if it was to keep up appearances, so the other Hidden Villages didn't see the massacre as a sign of weakness.

Despite all the mourning and loss, life still continued on for the Village and Alex soon found himself back at the Academy. It was the first time he'd seen the Uchiha twins since that night and they seemed to be the only ones who had changed over the summer. Natsumi still claimed she would be the first female Hokage, Shikamaru was still lazy, Chòji still liked his snacks, Shino was still as quiet as ever, Hinata was just as bashful, Ino and Sakura were still loud, Kiba still didn't care about attending class and would skip it all together along with Shikamaru, Chòji and Natsumi.

Though if Alex thought people fawned over the twins before, it was nothing compared to now. People treated them like royalty and it wasn't doing them any favors, Sasuke had become arrogant and could be found brooding which fan-girls seemed to think looked cool and fawned over him even more. Satsuki was different she still looked down on everyone else, but she seemed withdrawn often referring to Sasuke for approval before doing anything. He felt a little sorry for her, Sasuke not so much. Because unlike Sasuke, Satsuki would never unlock the Sharingan which would always put her second best behind her twin in the eyes of the Village.

Class began with a simple test to see how much they remembered before Iruka sent them straight into Taijutsu training. That is where Alex started having some trouble. It only took a few minutes for him to realize that the Academy Style wouldn't work very well for him. Don't get him wrong, he could follow the Kata's and use the Style fairly well, but the Style was too rigid and uncompromising for his tastes. There would be moments when he tried to instinctually block but ended up throwing his stance which earned him an earful from the rest of the class. Not that he really cared what they thought. He was at the Academy for one reason and one reason only, to learn.

He talked to Iruka after class that day about the problem he was having. Iruka listened to him quietly before saying it wasn't actually an uncommon problem for people like Alex who relied mostly on their instincts in battle. The Inuzuki were prim examples of this. He suggested that Alex keep training with the Style to at least get a better feel for it, the Style was meant to be very adaptable. If it still didn't work out, Iruka suggested he start looking for his own Style. He even offered to help Alex comb through the library for one, but Alex declined politely.

It was a few days into the Academy year that Alex became friends with Shikamaru. After eleven and a half years Alex had made his first friend. He was a good friend to he thought. Alex didn't talk much and Shikamaru was too lazy to talk, it was perfect, also made for a nice quiet game of shogi. Though at first Alex didn't know how to play, but upon asking Shikamaru he quickly learned how and they began to play every day during their lunch break. Apparently Shikamaru's other friends Chòji and Ino were glad he found someone else to play with and so left them alone. Ino would go compete with Sakura for Sasuke's attention, while Chòji might stay and watch for a game but afterward he usually went to find more snacks.

After a few weeks of this Shikamaru invited Alex to his house to play on a real shogi board, although as he would later learn it was Yoshino (Shikamaru's mother) who suggested it, just so she would have an excuse to meet Alex and have him over for dinner. And what a dinner it was, he met both Shikamaru's parents. Skikaku liked his Alcohol a little too much in Alex's opinion, but other than that he seemed like a good father and husband if a little whipped and lazy, really lazy. He has two scars on the right side of his face which were probably his most noticeable feature. Like his son, he had dark hair pulled into a spiky ponytail, with dark eyes, goatee and pierced ears. Yoshino was a little bossy, but from what Alex could see about the Nara Clan she had a right to be. They were just so damn lazy. She has long dark brown hair pulled into a low ponytail with three strands framing her face, fair skin and dark eyes.

Yoshino was quick to fall in love with Alex, who knew simply doing the dishes would endear you to someone so quickly. She nearly had a heart attack when she had entered the kitchen only to find Alex finishing the dishes. On the bright side when he left that night he was told he was always welcome for dinner. He now had dinner at the Nara compound twice a week and after dinner he would help Yoshino clean up before playing a game of shogi with Shikamaru and going home. He had yet to beat Shikamaru once, he gave him trouble but that was it.

Back at the Academy things progressed slowly. It was weeks before the subject of molding chakra came up at the Academy and weeks longer before they started teaching them how to do it, Alex played along so he wouldn't draw any attention to himself. After all the Clan heirs already knowing how to mold chakra was to be expected, if an orphan knew the same. It would cause talk and that was the last thing Alex wanted. He tried hard to stay in the up fifty percent range of the class and not move any higher.

Through sheer determination he managed to bring his Taijutsu up so it was at least average in the class, able to least give the upper students a run before he was beat. He had to ignore his instincts which he hated, but he would live with it till he found a new Style and finding a new one wasn't easy. After all he didn't want a common Style anyone might know or recognize. No, he wanted an obscure Style that would surprise his opponents the moment he dropped the Academy Style. Eventually he did manage to find one, 'White Tiger Style' it just wasn't the way he expected.

It was months after the Academy started. Everyone had pretty much gotten the Leaf Concentration Exorcise down and was now working on Hand Seals. It was Friday the last day before the weekend and students were getting anxious for the bell to ring. Iruka was just finishing up his lecture on the Second Shinobi War. "It was during this time that the legendary Sanin, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru earned their title of Sanin. That title was given to them by Hanzò who even after defeating them chose to spare their lives and give them the title of Sanin." He glanced at the clock. "Class is just about over, so before you go are there any questions?" nobody had any questions they were more focused on the coming weekend; the bell chose that second to ring. "Well that marks the end of class. Your homework for the day is to study the Second Shinobi war, there will be a test on Monday. Have good weekend."

Alex waited for the last of the students to leave the room before elbowing a sleeping Shikamaru in the side. "Wakeup it's time to go."

Grumbling about troublesome people interrupting his naps Shikamaru stood up, stretched and gave a loud yawn. As he was doing this Alex slipped by him and left the room. He had a lot of patience but the Nara tested that every day. Shikamaru caught up to him in the hall-way. "Are you going to disappear for the weekend to train? It wouldn't kill you to take a day off once and awhile." He said in his usual board tone.

Alex was a little affronted. "I do take a day off, once a month." He glanced suspiciously at Shikamaru. "Why do you ask?" it wasn't like his schedule ever changed.

"My troublesome mother wanted to know if you would like to spend the weekend with us."

"Who did you just call troublesome?"

Shikamaru froze a look of dread on his face. "Hello Lady Yoshino, how are you this afternoon?" Alex always liked watching Shikamaru and Shikaku around Yoshino. He found it very entertaining.

Yoshino put her hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and smiled. "I just came to make sure my son remembered to invite you and what have said about calling me Lady Yoshino it's just Yoshino"

Alex knew that smile. It was the smile she used specifically for her son and husband. He had to hide a small grin at the sweat slowly falling down Shikamaru's face. "You're the clan heads wife so that makes you a Lady and I'm sorry, but I already have plans this weekend"

She pouted. "Alright, you better be over for dinner on Monday then. Have a good weekend." Then she proceeded to grab her son's ear and pull him away. "Don't think I hadn't forgotten about you."

He watched the mother son duo for a few moments before going home himself. He didn't lie to Yoshino, he did have plans for the weekend and they weren't studying, training or working. He had something a little more dangerous planed. He was going to try to Summon. Ever since the subject came up at the Academy which was a few weeks ago when the three Sanin were first mentioned, he had been planning to become a summoner in secret. He might be immune to Genjustu but having another trick up your sleeve never hurt.

Now he wasn't going in to it blinded. He knew there were three ways to get Summoning Contract. Someone could let you sign their contract which was the most likely option, but still didn't happen very often or you could find an abandoned contract somewhere in the world and sign that. Those were two of the choices and the safest, the third was less so. It involved reverse summoning yourself back to the summoning world, were you landed depended on what animal you would naturally aligned with. The dangerous part was if you died over there it was for good and a lot of the local animals weren't friendly. All of Alex's research though often contradicting agreed on this part.

Arriving at his Apartment Alex locked the door behind him and grabbed a scroll he had waiting on the counter. " _Well it's now or never_ " he thought before going through hand seals. On the last seal he was engulfed in smoke.

The first thing he felt was the cold and as the smoke dissipated he got his first look at his surroundings. He stood in a small clearing surrounded by tightly packed trees with a foot of snow on the ground. He was already losing feeling in his toes. Deciding to get out of the still falling snow he picked a random direction at started walking. He reached the tree line in a couple dozen steps only to be met with more snow it was less due to the foliage of the trees above but six inches was still enough to get frost bite on his feet if he wasn't carful. " _Ok, note to self. If I make it back alive I'm buying boots"_

He didn't know how long he walked, the only sounds being his breathing and the snow crunching underfoot. Even if it was cold enough to see his own breath he found himself enjoying the walk, aside from the cold feet. It was just like his nighttime stroll back in Konoha. The sound of voices brought him out of his reverie. Quickly hiding around a tree he peered around it, he found who or what was talking. Not twenty feet from him were a group of Tigers; they were laughing as the circled something no doubt their prey. Climbing the tree to get a better look he saw what they were circling a small White Tiger Cub. Wanting to help the animal, he waited to see what was going on before rushing in.

"Look here boys, a White runt all alone in the woods. Where's your mommy Whitey?" one Tiger broke their ring and approached the Cub, no doubt the one that had just spoken. "What too scared to speak? Ha, I always knew your clans were week. After all we've had an active summoning contract for years to keep us strong."

"Unlike your clan Nakata, we don't just let anyone sign our contract and if I remember correctly, my mother trounced your father when he tried encroaching on our land" Even though Alex just arrived he liked the Cub she wasn't intimated by their numbers or she kept it well hidden.

The newly named Nakata growled. "Well maybe we should send you back to her in little pieces, repayment for that fight. How does that sound boys" agreement followed his words as the other tigers began approaching. He had to give the Cub props she show no signs of fear and readied herself as best she could.

Deciding to step in, Alex jumped from the branch and landed next to the Cub surprising the Tiger's. "I think five on one is a little unfair don't you?"

Nakata quickly got over his surprise. "What are you doing here human, this doesn't concern you"

Alex sweat dropped, could he have chosen something less cliché to say. "Be that as it may, it's still five on one and I always like routing for the little guy or gal in this instance."

"Well you chose wrong today, now you'll just end up dying along with Whitey here" Nakata pounced.

Alex ducked under his paws and delivered a hard kick to his stomach sending him over Alex's head. However like the cat he was he landed on his feet and pounced again. Stepping to the side Alex brought out a Kunai and gave Nakata a long gash down his side as he past. Once more landing on his feet Nakata got ready to pounce again, but stopped when he felt the wound in his side.

"The way I see it you have two choices'" Alex purposed. "You can continue to attack me and likely end up with worse or you can turn around and leave before this gets any worse. My friends should be here to back me up shortly which would put you at an even greater disadvantage, your choice." The Tigers growled at him but left soon after. He replaced the Kunai and turned to face the Cub, who was sitting and watching the events unfold. "It always surprises me that I can always end up in these situations"

"My mother has always told me it's the surprises in life that make it so interesting, my names Kiara by the way" the newly named Cub said. "Thanks for helping me with Nakata, he and his clan has always done everything they can to harass us."

"You're mother sounds like fun. I might have to meet her one day and you're welcome us outnumbered ones have to stick together" Alex said. Getting a better look at her he was surprise to see she had Silver eyes. He didn't think Tiger's could have that color.

"You might be meet her sooner than you think"

Alex was left to ponder those cryptic words for a few moments before he had the urge to turn around and found himself looking at a set of Giant paws. Craning his neck he looked almost straight up. The tiger standing in front of him had to be the biggest he'd ever seen its body clearing the trees by a far margin. " _How long has that been there"_ those were the last thoughts to run through his mind before he felt a brief flare of pain in his side before everything went black.

Alex awoke to the sound of rushing water. The fact he was lying on a soft bed took a few moments to register. Clutching his head he sat up with a groan. Blinking to remove the sleep from his eyes, he started to take in the room around him.

The house was made out of mostly one room, with an open doorway leading to a Kitchen slash living room from the bedroom while another door he assumed led to the bathroom. The bedroom consisted of a queen size bed with a night stand and a wardrobe. The bathroom had a shower slash bathtub, toilet and a sink with a mirror cabinet. The Kitchen had a refrigerator and stove top, with a bar between it and the living room. The living room had couch, coffee table, recliner and a bookshelf.

Pulling off the covers he found he was only wearing his boxers and his torso was wrapped in cloth. " _Huh, whatever hit me must have damaged my ribs. At least I know whoever brought me here is semi-friendly if they went through the trouble of caring for me."_ He thought before sliding off the bed and stretching ignoring the slight pain from his ribs.

He decided to search the wardrobe for anything wearable. The clothes inside were a little old but looked like they were still in reasonable shape they were big however. Sighing he pulled out the smallest pair of clothes he could find which consisted of a pair of brown pants and dark green shirt. He found his sandals beside the bed. Finally dressed he decided it was time to find out where he was.

The sight that awaited him outside was breathtaking. High rock walls with soft grass covering the floor, surrounding a large pool with a waterfall. Relatively flat with the occasional lifted pads that looked like great places to lie down and relax. The house which he just emerged from was tucked to one side and to complete the scene, Tigers of every size from knee high cub to taller than trees.

He had just enough time to take all of it in before he was hit by a small black and white missile. "YOU'RE AWAKE!"

With a groan he glanced down at his chest to find Kiara sitting on him and happily rubbing her head against his chest. The motion drawing another groan from him, his ribs were still tender after all. He gave her head a pat, "Hello Kiara it's nice to see you and all, but could you stop doing that. My ribs are still tender from whatever hit me"

Suddenly looking bashful Kiara jumped off him. "Ya, sorry about that, my mom has always been very protective of me and when she saw you with me after I called for help she kind of jumped to conclusions"

"Understandable I suppose" Alex said, getting to his feet. "Still hurt though, how long was I out?"

"A day and a half" so it was Sunday morning, which meant nobody would have realized he was missing yet since he always disappeared during the weekend. "We didn't expect you to get up so soon, but now that you are my mom want to talk to you" Kiara then proceed to lead the way across the expanse of grass and through a large cave.

The cave walls had green crystals imbedded every couple feet that shone with light illuminating the tunnel. As they walked he noticed more paths of shooting from their current one. "Where are we, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You know that mountain that was in the distance when we met?" he nodded. "Well we're in the center of it. All these paths lead all over the mountain. Here we are" the tunnel led to a circular room with a large raised stone slab and lying atop it was the Tiger that had played pinball with him. "Hello mother, I bring our guest" Kiara's tone was more formal as she bowed. Deciding to be polite Alex inclined his head to Kiara's mother. Just like Kiara her mother had Silver eyes.

"So this is the Human helped you out" coming from a larger frame her voice was much deeper then Kiara's but still had a female tone to it. "I apologize for the misunderstanding that conceded with our meeting"

"It is of no matter, she's your daughter and there was no way of knowing if I was a danger yet" he kept his tone polite. Last thing he needed was making something of her stature angry.

"All the same as an apology for the misunderstanding and a reward for saving my daughter, I would like to offer you a chance to sign our Summoning Contract."

Alex was shocked. This was not what he was expecting, signing a Contract was why he had come in the first place but he couldn't expect it like this. "I most decline."

Both Kiara and he mother took on a look of surprise, which was no mean feat considering they were Tigers. Both only spoke one word. "Why?"

Taking a deep breath he began to explain. "Don't get me wrong I'm honored to have a chance to sign your Contract, but I don't want to have a Summoning Contract because it was owed to me as a reward for something anyone would do. I want to earn it my own way"

He was surprised when she started to laugh, the laugh echoed off the walls. "You surprise me young one. Not many would turn down a Contract especially ours, but you do. I will admit I only agreed to offer you the chance because my Daughter wouldn't let the matter drop" she spared a glance for Kiara. "But now I see why she had become so taken with you. You show a Will of Fire I've not seen since our last Summoner died and for that I offer you our contract once more, not as a reward or apology, but because I want to"

At this point Alex would've been an idiot not to accept. "When you put it that way, I accept" the Tiger then pressed her paw against the ground in front of Alex and there was a small poof of smoke. It cleared to reveal a partially unrolled scroll with only a single name written upon it 'Hashirama Senju' Alex just stared at the name. "The first Hokage was your first Summoner!" he exclaimed. "I didn't even know he had a Summoning Contract"

"Not many do. He was the only person to prove himself worthy of being our first and I was proud to serve as his familiar."

What were the chances he would gain the same Summoning Contract as the First, but then a sudden question entered his mind one he hadn't thought of before "I don't have a last name, is that going to be a problem when I sign?"

The Tiger then struck a thinking pose. "I don't think it will, but only one way to find out"

Nodding in agreement Alex bit his thumb and wrote his name in blood under Hashirama's. "It's done you have successfully been added as a Summoner, my people welcome you and look forward to working together. My names Tanya by the way and since my daughter was so insistent on you signing, she will be your familiar. Although don't be afraid to call upon me or any of the others, our clan and all of our knowledge is at your disposal.

"You honor me Tanya, I only have one request for the time being" Alex said. Tanya motioned him to continue. "As you might have guessed I'm training to be a Ninja of Konohagekure. The same village your previous Summoner founded, but I'm having trouble with Taijutsu. During my research into Summoning Contracts I read that Animal clans often have their own style that complements their clan and allows more cohesive teamwork between Summoner and Familiar. I ask to be taught your style?"

"Of course we will teach you, however there is one final matter before we begin." Tanya gestured to the Scroll still lying between them. "As our Summoner it is your privilege and responsibility to carry the Contract in your travels."

Alex considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "It would be best if it was to remain with you for the time being. I'm not strong enough yet to keep it safe, but when I am I will gladly take that responsibility."

"As you wish, I shall keep it safe until then. Now let's begin your training." Tanya then led the way out of the cave.

And so began Alex's training in The White Tiger Style.

 **A/N I hope you enjoy this chapter of 'Strength of Blood' you might have noticed I changed Minako's name to Natsumi. Minako is too close to Minato so I changed it. I hope to have another chapter from one of my other stories out soon. So until next time Read/Review and have yourself a nice day. (Normal disclaimers here)**


	5. Chapter 4

**The Strength of Blood**

 _ **Chapter Four: Summer Two**_

Alex quickly took to 'The White Tiger Style' like a fish to water. It was a Style mainly focused on Strength and Agility with many elbow and knee strike kata's it worked even better when he had a Kunai in each hand like makeshift claws and instead of holding back his instincts it honed them while increasing his reflexes and flexibility as well as sharpening his senses to an outstanding degree. There was a problem however; while he was good at multitasking it would be impossible for him to practice two Styles at once. So he ended up dropped the Academy Style which led to his Taijutsu grade dropping, which meant his overall score dropped to the middle fifty percent of the class. It was an acceptable loss to him so long as he stayed above the twenty-five mark he could afford to keep his skills hidden.

What Alex didn't realize was over the weeks of him training in his new Style his walk started to turn more like a predator and what little sound he did make vanished completely. The only one who seemed to notice the change was Shilkamaru who was his friend and who he saw the most, though Shikamaru didn't confront him on it for some reason.

We now find Alex just finishing the second year examination.

The end of year examinations played an important part in the Academy; you got two chances to take the end of year Exam. Fail once you're allowed to retake the year, fail twice and you were kicked out of the Shinobi program. So while some people dropped out in the first couple months most of the students were whittled out at the exams. They had started a hundred -fifty students spread amongst five classrooms in their first year. They had only lost a few dozen in the first year, but now at the end of the second year they were down to three classrooms and they would no doubt loose more in the next two years.

"Pencils down" Iruka called out. Thus concluding the written part of the test, which happened to be the last part considering they already completed the other tests Weapon Handling, Taijustu, Chakra Control. They would begin leaning Genjutsu and more advanced Chakra Control. "Well that officially concludes another year at the Academy. You will be given test results within the month. Have yourselves a nice summer."

You'd think he had said first one out got a prize with how the students rushed out of the classroom. Alex watched them crowd around the door to leave. Even Ino, Choji and Shikamaru were almost at the door, though they were dragging Shikamaru with them. Alex opted to take the express elevator, which consisted of using the window.

Feet hitting the ground he put his hand in his pockets and started walking, today would be one of the few times he would treat himself to dinner and what better place to have dinner then at 'Akimichi's Bar and Grill'.

It was owned by the Akimishi clan and was one of the best places to eat in Konoha. They even had privacy seals set up at each table so conversations couldn't be overheard, which made it a go to place for Ninja.

No sooner did Alex enter the building then he heard someone call his name. He quickly caught sight of the familiar figure of Kenshin Yamada waving him over. Curious to see what he wanted Alex wandered over to his table. On the way he noticed two other people at the table with him. One was a woman around the age of Yoshino; she had curled shoulder length black hair framing a soft face with blue eyes her lips seemed to be in a constant pout. The third occupant at the table was much younger than the other two maybe a year or two older then himself, she had brown hair styled buns on either side of her head with short fringe-bangs and dark brown eyes.

Arriving at the table, he greeted Kenshin. "Hello Kenshin" he noticed the two females now watching him with curiosity. "Is there something you needed to speak to me about?" he assumed Kenshin just wanted to speak to him about work.

Kenshin had known him long enough to know what he was getting at and waved away his question. "nothing of the sort lad, I was just curious to what brings you out and about you usually don't go many places besides your apartment, the shop, the academy and wherever you wander off to during the weekends."

Alex relaxing slightly now that it wasn't about work he replied. "The academy just ended, I thought I would treat myself to dinner."

Kenshin smiled. "Then why don't you join us…." He was cut off by the Black haired women.

"Perhaps it would be best to introduce us first dear." Her voice was just as soft as her face, but it carried weight.

Scratching his head in embarrassment Kenshin quickly made introductions. "Dear, Teny, this is Alex he works part time at the shop" he turned to Alex and began to continue speaking but was cut off when he was hit over the head with a fan from the young girl.

"Stop calling me that" her face was bright red.

Rubbing his head Kenshin finished the introductions. "Alex this is my wife and daughter, Aiko and Tenten."

Alex bowed politely. "A pleasure to meet you and are you sure it's ok for me to join you?"

Aiko quickly spoke up. "Of course it is" and promptly made room for him to sit. With a quick 'thank you' Alex sat in the offered chair.

Any questions had to wait as the food arrived. Akimishi's was a grill yourself restaurant, so they just brought raw meats and vegetables that you could cook on the griddle that was located In the middle of every table. As they delivered the meal, they asked for drink orders. Kenshin ordered for a cup of sake, Aiko ordered a hot tea as did Tenten, but Alex just asked for water. With their drinks ordered the waiter bade them a good meal and left. The four put their hand together and said " _Itadakimasu" before each grabbing a pair of chopsticks and starting to cook their meal._

 _Tenten was the first one out of the gate. "So Alex, you go to the academy. What year are you in?"_

 _"I just finished my second"_

 _"That's cool; I just finished up third myself. By this time next year I'll be a bona fide_ Kunoichi _." She stated proudly._

 _"Now now honeys, you still have to pass the fourth year tests. What have I always told you?" Kenshin reprimanded fondly._

 _Tenten looked bashful. "Never count your swords before there forged."_

Alex always found it interesting to watch families interact with one another. First it was Shikamaru and his family, now its Kenshin and his. Deciding it was time to ask a question. "So Aiko, what do you do while Kenshin's at work and Tenten is at the Academy?"

"Not much ever since I retired from being Konoha's ambassador to Land of Iron. It was during my time there I met Kenshin." She leaned into Kenshin lovingly. "I mostly tend house and occasionally running the shop while Ken is busy."

"So Alex, what do you do at the shop? I've never heard my father mention you before" Tenten jumped back into the conversation.

Chewing a piece of recently cooked beef Alex thought about his answer, swallowing he began. "Well technically I don't work for him." that caused a look of confusion from both Aiko and Tenten. "Since I'm too young to officially get a job, I just sell him Tags and Scrolls at a reasonable price. He then turns around and sells them with a reasonable knock up. We both win that way and we don't have to waste time one things like my age or people poking around when news gets out of a new and unknown sealer around."

"Unfortunately despite your efforts to remain anonymous, People are already asking questions on who is supplying me with such high quality goods." Kenshin sighed.

Alex just shrugged. "It was never my intention to remain hidden forever; I just need graduate from the academy. After that I don't really care, I probably won't even be making scrolls or tags at that point since I'll have an actual income and focusing mostly on my training."

"And I'll be sorry to see you go, you have increased my sales be almost ten since you started making tags. The supplier I use when you're in the Academy doesn't even come close to your quality or speed. I'll make do though, but if you ever need some quick cash I'll always buy from you"

Alex felt proud that his work was going to be missed so badly. "I'll keep that in mind and who knows I have a few projects in mind so I might just need the extra money."

Deciding this tangent had gone on long enough, Tenten spoke up. "So you're a Sealer. I've always wanted to learn how, but with it being so difficult to learn and it's hard to get a teacher. You must have a great one considering your making top quality Scrolls and Tags if what father says is true."

"Not to mention at your age." Aiko agreed with her daughter. "You must have worked really hard to get this far, who taught you if I may ask?" there were several sealers in the village, but none that she knew of had taken an apprentice in the last couple years and she kept well up to date on gossip in the village. Some people might find it useless, but to her as a wife to the owner of a shop it was good to keep abreast of events in the village and one of the best ways to do this was to keep an ear open to gossip.

"No one taught me. I taught myself." He answered the question not really paying attention as he set a few more pieces of meat to cook, missing the looks disbelief he received in the process.

"YOU TAUGHT YOUSELF!" both Aiko and Tenten said together. Tenten looked astonished, while Aiko looked worried. "Learning on your own was a very dangerous thing to do you should have gotten a teacher"

Kenshin saw how Alex tensed. "I know better than most how dangerous it is and I knew that going in. Fùinjutsu is an art that mustto be respected."

Aiko and Kenshin shared a glance before she apologized. "I apologize for speaking to you like that, it's just your almost the same age as Tenten and I would hate for her to take a risk like that. She tried to learn by herself, but I put my foot down."

At her explanation Alex relaxed. "I understand why you're so protective, you're a mother and I would expect nothing less. In fact I bet your reaction was a lot tamer then what Yoshino's reaction would be, because she's know me a lot better and is much more open about speaking her mind."

They ate in silence for awhile before Tenten broke it. "So how long have you been practicing Fùinjutsu?"

"About two years now, I started soon after I started the Academy. If you want I could show you a thing or two about Fùinjustu to get you started" Tenten glanced at her mother and when she was given permission nodded eagerly.

The rest of the meal past quickly with Alex learning more about the Yamada family, he found he got along very well with Tenten and after saying goodbye and setting a date to teach her some Fùinjutsu he left. He'd slacked off enough and it was time for him to get to work on next week's shipment of Seals and Tags for the shop.

He worked for a few hours upon arriving at his apartment, before turning his attention to his little side project which was a seal to combat the Sharingans ability to copy Jutsu's, it was a slow process considering he didn't have an ability to test it. He was working under the theory that the Sharingan works by memorizing the hand seals and how you molded the chakra. How it actually copied was unknown to all, but the Uchiha. One might ask why he was working on this seal when the Uchiha were practically gone except for a few, but Alex didn't believe that they were the only ones who had them. Kakashi Hakake 'The Copycat Ninja' was known to have a Sharingan implanted. Why couldn't other people not have the same thing or the fact Itachi Uchiha was still out there was a factor as well as the fact he didn't trust Sasuke very much either. Alex had to admit working from pure theory alone sucked. He hated not knowing if it would work until it was too late.

He flipped through Mito's note book containing all her notes and sealing arrays she had created which were amazing, but sadly out of reach from his current level. He'd found the book while idly turning the pages of 'Understanding Fùinjustsu' he wouldn't have noticed the sealing array that held it had he not already finished level one Fùinjutsu. During her time Mito had had a few ideas on the seal he was currently trying to make, which helped tremendously in regards to its creation. Using her knowledge and what he scraped together he hoped to have a working seal by the time he graduated. If he was honest a part of was looking forward to the reaction this seal would create. After all he was accentually neutralizing the ability of what was considered to be one of the strongest Dòjutsu's around.

Though the realest in him knew he would have to work feverishly hard to guard his Seal Arrays, which is something every Seal master had to do. A lot of people both inside the Village and out would want his seal assuming he succeeded of course. Sighing in frustration he pushed himself away from his desk and decided to go on his late night stroll before bed.

He pushed aside all thoughts about Seals, Training or Returning to the Academy in a few months and simple enjoyed the night air upon his face. His path took him close to the Clan district, which he had avoided sine the Uchiha massacre, while he liked these night time strolls he knew his luck when it came to these things. Tonight however luck seemed to favor Alex, there was an empty lot on the edge of the Clan District and it was for sale. The houses on either side had eight foot fences for privacy. He could barely see the roofs of the houses from his angle on the road most seemed to be single story houses with a couple two stories thrown in. it actually was a beautiful neighborhood with the Sakura trees flowering along the road.

The lot itself was fairly large, though nowhere near the size of a Clan compound. Unfortunately it seemed to have not been taken care of for awhile. It was overgrown and trash littered the ground, but with a little work it would be perfect. Searching the lot he found a sign half buried in the grass. It was a for sale sign with directions on how to get a hold of the owner for negotiating a price. He would have to get a hold of this person for future reference; while he wouldn't be able to buy it till he graduated Alex would have to see if they would allow him to put the deal on hold till he graduated. Writing down the information Alex continued on his walk.

The next morning he found the owner and managed to convince him to save the lot till he graduated, a stack of bills might have helped the negotiations. They ironed out of a price of 250,000Ryo, while Alex was suspicious of such a low price since it was so close to the Clan District, which was considered to be high value land. The owner explained that since it was just an empty lot and he just wanted the lot off his hands since he hadn't gotten any other offers lately and it was just getting more overgrown and trashed. After the negotiations he went to meet Tenten for their first lesson.

They had agreed to meet up at the shop because her family lived above the shop. He waved to Kenshin on his way up the stairs; the upstairs was kind of like a two bedroom two bath apartment. Aiko was already making lunch in the kitchen and Tenten was at the table. "Good afternoon, are you ready for your first lesson." He asked Tenten. At her nod he sat in the chair beside while pulling out a Scroll and unsealing its contents, which where basic Sealing supplies. It was a set of brushes, a pot of ink and a stack of large papers.

He started with a small lecture to cover the understanding and dangers. "Now Fùinjutsu is a dangerous and demanding art, it takes discipline and patience most of all. There are Twelve Levels to Fùinjutsu, but we won't even be working on them for awhile. First we have to get you acclimated to Seal work." He slid the stack of papers over to her. "Now we'll start with a practice seal, before we really dive into Seal Arrays." He quicly wrote the practice seal on the top sheet of paper. "This is a practice Seal, when done correctly it will light up when you add Chakra." He demonstrated by tapping the Seal and sending a small amount of Chakra into the Seal, which made it glow blue for a moment. "Don't worry about messing up to much; this is one of the only Seals that won't have deathly consequences if done incorrectly."

With that encouraging bit of news he watched as Tenten began to slowly copying Seals for the next few hours, they briefly stopped for lunch before continuing. He pressed the impotence of perfection. By the time he left she managed to get three out of five, he left several more writing exorcises for her to practice.

Over the next few months he would test her every time he dropped off his weekly shipment, by the time the Academy started up again she was well half way through level one. All in all it was a very productive summer for him, between working for Kenshin, teaching Tenten, spending time with the Nara family, not to mention keeping up with his training and side projects.

 **A/N here's another chapter. Only two maybe three chapter left until Canon starts and the real fun begins. (Usual disclaimers here)**


	6. Chapter 5

**The Strength of Blood**

 **Chapter Five: Elemental Mishaps**

Genjutsu, Alex was beginning to hate the field. He had thought that his third year at the Academy would be pretty easy; it was after all a year mostly focused on learning Genjutsu with the other subject's being thrown in around it and since he was immune one would assume that all would be good, if you did you would be wrong. When the year started Alex had to choose between two outcomes for this year.

On one hand he could show phenomenal skill in being able to break any Genjutsu which would be easy because of his immunity and he could then pour all the time everyone else had to learning to do the same into the theoretical and understanding for the written half of it. On the other hand he could totally bomb both sides of it showing a complete inaptitude for the field. So biting his pride he chose the latter of the two and in doing so sealed his fate for the year. Throughout his year at the Academy he was known as the worst in Genjutsu even worse than Natsumi and Sai, but he would bear with it as long as his overall grade didn't drop below twenty-five. As it was he was walking a fine line when it came to his grade.

Although there was a silver lining in all this, with him not having to spend a lot time on Genjutsu, it opened up a large space in his studying schedule and he needed to fill it. Luckily he had a friend in her fourth and final year, a friend who was learning the Academy Ninjutsu's, a friend he's been tutoring in Fùinjutsu. How could he pass up on such an opportunity?

So during his next session with Tenten he brought it up. She was overjoyed to help; apparently she had been looking for a way to repay him for all his help. They began with ' **Kawarimi no Jutsu'** and over the next couple weeks he learned the ' **Henge no Jutsu'** and ' **Bunshin no Jutsu'** he made sure to practice the ' **Kawarimi no Jutsu'** till it became second nature to him. Sadly by that point he had learned the three major Ninjutsu's of the Academy and Tenten no longer had anything to teach him. Once again he had an opening in his Schedule; it looked like it was time to up the ante once more. So began by stopping by 'The Iron Forge' with his weekly shipment.

The bell above the door rang as Alex entered the shop. He found it empty besides himself and Kenshin manning the counter, who looked up and smiled at his entrance. "Alex? I'm surprised to see you, Tenten's still working on the exercises you gave her and your next shipment isn't due for another few days."

"I finished it early… and I wanted to ask a favor." Alex said handing Kenshin the Scroll.

Kenshin chuckled "you need a favor, should I be excited or worried"

"Ha ha very funny, I need two pieces of Chakra Paper."

Kenshin's eyebrows rose at the request. "You want to learn your Affinity, at your age? Isn't that a little early, and why two?"

"No I don't think it's too early to learn. I've already learned the Academy Jutsu's from Tenten and while I have absolute faith in the products you supply, it never hurts to double check."

Kenshin accepted the point, better safe than sorry, but he was still curious. Why did Alex want to learn such advanced Jutsu's when he only just entered his third year at the Academy? "This sudden interest wouldn't have anything to do with you low Genjutsu grades would it?" he asked. "Tenten has told us you're barely passing, but I've known you for a couple years now and I know you're a lot better than people think."

Alex sighed. "I should have known that subject would come up, while I won't tell you why… I will tell you that I have Genjutsu covered. It's actually the reason I'm looking for something else to learn. I have to fill my time-table with something."

He studied Alex for a few moments before nodding. "I believe you and I can't wait for the day you become a Ninja. At this rate you might just become one of the greatest Ninja this Village has ever seen." He then grabbed two pieces of paper from beneath the counter and handed them to Alex. "Do you know how these work…?" at his nod Kenshin sighed. "Of course you do. Try not to get yourself killed, it would be a waste to lose such a good supplier" he joked. Alex just shook his head and left after grabbing the Chakra Paper.

"Are you sure about letting him have those? You know how dangerous it is to practice Elemental Jutsu without a teacher, especially for one so young." Aiko spoke as she appeared from the back room.

Kenshin nodded. "I do, but someone like Alex doesn't come around very often. He has a drive to learn and practice everything he can get his hands on beyond that of his peers and of those years older than himself. That kind of drive should be fueled, not staunched." He embraced his wife with one arm. "And besides do you really think it will be any harder for him then learning Fùinjutsu all by himself. You have to admit the kids a natural at being self taught, I'd be willing to bet he already has some low level Jutsu's that he can practice."

Aiko rested her head on Kenshin's shoulder. "I guess your right about both points, though I am curious where he's going to get Jutsu's Scrolls from. The Library won't allow someone into that section unless they're a registered Ninja, and The Nara Clan doesn't really practice Elemental Jutsu."

Kenshin shrugged. "Who knows, Alex is a very resourceful individual. So we'll just have to wait and see." He then gave her a confused look. "Wait, both points?" he asked. "What's the second?"

She smiled. "The point you made about him becoming one of the best Ninja this Village has ever seen."

Alex was in a great mood as he left 'The Iron Forge' he had two pieces of Chakra Paper and a full year at the Academy to learn Elemental Jutsu's. Though first he has to know if he had an Elemental Affinity, before he started leaning any jutsu's. He made his way to an empty training ground. Once he was sure it was empty, he pulled out the Chakra Paper and channeled some Chakra into it.

Now Elemental Affinities weren't uncommon, almost everyone had at least one, but there were those rare few who didn't. The Chakra Paper showed your Affinity by doing one of the following. The paper dampens to signify a Water Affinity. If the paper crumbled into dirt you have an Earth Affinity. If the paper wrinkled you have a Lighting Affinity. If it split in two you have a Wind Affinity. If it lit itself on fire you had a Fire Affinity. Sometimes people would have dual Affinity's and even rarer than that were people who had three Affinity's, which were unheard of outside Elemental Bloodlines like Ice which was a combination of Wind and Water or Storm which was Wind and Lightning.

So when the paper in his hand split into four equal pieces. One of which turned to water, one crumpled into a ball and sparked with black electricity, one hardened into rock and one burst into blue fire. He blinked, grabbed the second piece and tried again, with the same result. Never had he thought he would have more than one Affinity, but to have all five. That was unheard of.

Shaking off his surprise, he started going through the hand seals to reverse summon himself back to the mountain home with a puff of smoke. He waited for the smoke to clear away, before setting off to find Tanya, who he found in the audience chamber and bowed respectfully. "Hello Tanya. How does the day find you?"

"It finds me well young one." She said inclining her head. "To what do we owe the pleasure today?"

"I was hoping to be granted access your Jutsu vault, if you would allow me."

"Of course, every resource we have at our disposal is yours. If you follow me I can show you the vault." Standing up she led the way for Alex.

The vault turned out to be an old library like room, with bookshelves lining the walls and then several running across the room. It was run by the smaller tigers who could navigate the shelves more easily. After greeting the Tigers on duty, Tanya led him to a sealing array in the middle of the room. "Most of what we have is the history of the clan, but this sealing array leads to where most of the Jutsu's are kept. All you have to do is stand in the array and push chakra into it." She explained.

"Thank you Tanya. I can't express how helpful you have been in the past year."

"If you need any help you can ask Kim our chronicler, she knows everything there is to know about this place." she paused on her way out the doorway to lend him one last bit of advice. "Just don't try waking her up from one of her naps, she likes them a lot."

" _I'll keep that in mind_ " he thought. Crouching down he pressed his hand against the seal and found himself inside another room entirely. If he thought the last one was nice, this one was magnificent. Rows upon rows of shelves that reached the ceiling, all stacked to bursting with scrolls. There were entire sections devoted to Jutsu's alone, with more for Taijutsu styles and Kenjutsu and pretty much every skill there was out there. He was pretty sure he'd died and gone to heaven, there was no way he would be able to learn half these Jutsu's in his lifetime. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he got to work. He started by picking out the basics on affinity manipulation for each element and then grabbed a single Jutsu to learn from each, he could come back for more at a later date. With scrolls in-hand he stored them in a seal on his arm and left via the way he came in. He stopped just long enough to say goodbye to Tanya before leaving the World of Summons and making his way towards an unused training field after picking up a few items at the store.

Upon arriving he sat down and unsealed the scroll containing the basics for fire manipulation. Having an affinity for fire was common in Konoha, he would start with that and if something happened that he didn't foresee it would be easy to get help without being to suspicious. After all, everyone would only see him as an Academy student who'd managed to learn his Affinity and get a hold of a Jutsu to practice, not all that uncommon really, it had happened before. Sitting down cross-legged he began.

The first step to fire manipulation was learning to extinguish a small flame with just your chakra. So he grabbed one of the candles he'd bought at the store and lit it with a match. Holding his hands on either side of the flame he began channeling chakra between his hands. It was a slow process, but after awhile he managed to make the flame flicker, before finally extinguishing it all together. He did this several times to get the hang of it before moving on to the seconded step, which was to ignite the candle instead of extinguishing it. That took him a bit longer, but it to he got in the end. Now it was time for the final step. After igniting the candle once more, he slowly lifted his hand upwards, lifting the flame for the candle and holding it suspended between his hands. Now the fame was entirely dependent on his chakra to stay alive. Just out of curiosity he channeled more chakra into the space between his hands and watched as the flickering flame grew into a fireball the size of his fist. Feeling his chakra reserves dropping fast, he reduced it back to its original size.

For the next couple hours he practiced this, igniting and extinguishing without the use of a candle, increasing and deceasing its size repeatedly and making it move back and forth between his hands. He left just enough chakra in the tank to practice Fùinjutsu that night, the rest he trained away.

This pattern continued for the next two days. He would wake up and head to the Academy. Then he would head to a random training ground. After practicing his Taijutsu, Kunai and Shuriken throwing and fire manipulation, he would head home with enough chakra left for an hour or two of Fùinjutsu before bed.

On the third day he decided to learn his first Elemental Jutsu. ' **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu'** (Great Fireball Technique). Which was a C-Rank Jutsu, in fact all five of the Jutsu's he'd grabbed where C-Rank. He started by slowly copying the hand seals, than he ran through them a couple dozen times going faster each time. Finally he began to mold his chakra along with the hand-seals, kneading it within his lungs.

" **Katon: Gokakyu!** "

A blue fireball the size of his fist flew from his mouth and stuck the target he'd set up not far away. Pumping an arm in success he tried again, this time molding as much chakra as he could into the Jutsu.

" **Katon: Gokakyu!** "

The fireball was twice the size of his head this time. Unfortunately he missed the target this time and instead left a large scorch mark on the ground. He was able to do two more full powered Fireballs before running out of chakra. But unfortunately he'd set the whole training ground alight at that point so he had to get the hell out of dodge before he was caught in a place he technically wasn't supposed to be. He'd have to be more careful, it didn't occur to him that his flames would be so powerful so quickly, their blue lights danced across his back as he fled.

The next morning the incident at the training ground was talk of the Academy, apparently it had taken quite a few Ninja to extinguish. Alex pretended to be interested about who caused it when both Tenten and Shikamaru talked about it, but he think only Tenten bought the act, although Shikamaru didn't call him out for some reason, maybe because they were friends? Well Alex wasn't going to press it if he wouldn't.

Once the heat had died down (no pun intended) he found another training ground. Training Ground Sixty-Four fit his needs nicely. It was unused, had a large stream running through it, it was secluded with tall trees densely packed around it preventing anyone from spying from a distance and he placed security Seals all around to notify him if someone approached whether he was there or not and to prevent any spying of other means as well. The spying seals were a favorite of Mito's, they were actually the same seals around the women's hot springs in town, though for some reason they'd been deactivated until he came alone and reactivated them and added his own touch so they couldn't be deactivate again. The Training Ground itself was perfect. It provided the solitude he wanted, away from prying eyes and the stream would allow him to practice any number of Water Jutsu's. After placing Barrier Seals around the Field to prevent a repeat of the last Training Ground he began, these seals weren't on pieces of paper, but carved into rock columns to make them permanent and he could activate or deactivate them with ease.

He'd brought actual training dummies this time and set them up on the opposite side of the Training Ground, he made sure they all had Chakra resisting seals carved on their backs so they wouldn't be destroyed after only one Jutsu, but he had a Scroll filled with replacements if he had to replace them.

With a quick one-handed hand-seal the Barrier Seals activated and he was free to start throwing Jutsu's. Alex had pretty much gotten the Fireball Jutsu down, but he'd only practiced it standing still and that wouldn't do. So as he went through his katas he randomly threw Kunai, Shuriken and the random Fireball Jutsu at the dummies. For the next couple weeks this was the norm as he slowly increased his Chakra reserves. By the time January rolled around he could do several Fireball Jutsu's in a row before having to rest, which was good progress for only a month.

Next on his list was Earth Manipulation and ' **Doton: Doroku Gaeshi** ' (Terra Shield). Since Alex already knew an offensive Jutsu he wanted a defensive this time. Earth manipulation consisted of holding a rock in one hand while trying to make it crumble and reform just using your Chakra. The bigger the rock the harder it was. Like with fire manipulation he practiced earth for three days before learning the Jutsu.

Going through the hand-seals slowly, he slammed both hands against the ground.

" **Doton: Doroku Gaeshi** "

A stone wall rose slowly from the ground. It wasn't perfect and was a weak in some areas, but Alex continued to practice until it was solid and he could raise it in the blink of an eye, but he still couldn't do as many as he wanted. His Chakra Reserves were hampering him in the Jutsu department, but there was little he could do about that.

As the days rolled by and his Reserves increased, he began adding the earth Jutsu to his Kata mix. The stone walls mad perfect targets for his Fireballs, that way he could work on making them both stronger at the same time and also saved him a bunch on training dummies. He trained with ' **Doroku Gaeshi** ' until he only had to slam one hand into the ground to get the desired effect.

He had the same success with the other Elements. Water, Lighting and Wind they all went smoothly. He did them much like the last two, practicing Manipulation for three days before trying the actual Jutsu's. And by the end of March was practicing them all together. ' **Katon: Gokakyu** ' ' **Doton: Doroku Gaeshi** ' ' **Suiton: Teppoudama** ' ' **Raiton: Raikyu** ' and ' **Fuuton: Daitoppa** ' were the five C-Rank Jutsu's he learned. Although he noticed something was wrong with his Jutsu's. Well maybe not wrong per say, just odd. His **Katon** was blue. His **Doton** grew dark. His **Raiton** was Black. His **Fuuton** was almost opaque. Only his **Suiton** seemed to be normal, if a little violent. Whatever was happening didn't seem to be having any adverse effects so he left it alone for the time being, in fact he thought it made them more destructive, but that could just be because he didn't have a comparison.

With the Jutsu's learned, Alex returned them to the vault and grabbed a scroll on a Chakra exorcise called 'Tree Walking' it was supposed to be a lot more taxing and helped refine your control a lot faster than 'The Leaf Balancing Exorcise' there was another for 'Water Walking', but he left that one alone for the time being. He would come back for it when he mastered 'Tree Walking'.

'Tree Walking' took him some time to get. If you concentrated too much Chakra into your feet they would go right through, if you focused too little you'd fall off. There was a fine balance between the two that Alex had to find and after a few hours, trees and falls later he did. While he hadn't mastered it yet, he had at least gotten a feel for the aforementioned exorcise. It was too late to really get into something new, so Alex decided to go home and make some dinner. It was during this action that he got a surprise visitor.

He had just started the noodles and was cutting up some spices for the broth, when he heard a knock on his door. Frowning he glanced at the clock on the stove. Nine-forty PM it read. Who would be calling this late? Setting the knife aside he wiped his hand off on the towel over his shoulder, before going to answer the door. Alex kept a hand on his Kunai holster he'd left on, just in case. Looking through the peephole he sighed before unlocking the door and pulling it open revealing Kenshin Yamada standing there. "What brings you at this hour Kenshin? Where my latest batch of Seals unsatisfactory, if so I apologize greatly and when the next batch is finished their free of charge."

"No, no, they were up to your usual standards" Kenshin denied vehemently.

That brought the frown back to Alex's face. "Then why are you here? Did something happen to the shop?" his words caused Kenshin to chuckle weakly.

"Is that really all I am to you, work? Can't I just come say hello to a friend?" Alex gave him a look. "Ok, ok. It smells like you were just cooking dinner. Mind if I join you and we can discuss this over food, I've not eaten since lunch"

Stepping back to allow him entrance, Alex closed the door behind him and promptly returned to cooking. "Make yourself at home. Dinner should be ready soon."

Kenshin followed him into the kitchen appraising the apartment as he went. "Nice place, though you wouldn't know it from the outside."

"The apartments cheep, not many people seem to like the idea of living in the same complex as my fellow renter." Alex commented, while adding the spices to the noodles. "I don't find it too bad myself. Take away the occasional acts of vandalism and many a warning for my health about living in the same building as the aforementioned tenet and it's actually quite nice, very peaceful in fact."

Kenshin sighed sadly behind him. "I still can't believe she's still receiving this treatment after almost thirteen years after the incident"

Dishing out two bowls Alex set them at the small table before taking a seat, while Kenshin followed suit across from him. "I don't suppose you could tell me why. I've asked several people, but they won't ever answer me and quickly run off or change the subject." Alex asked.

"Sorry Alex, it's an S-Rank secret."

"And yet most of the civilians know it?" Alex argued.

"I wish I could Alex, but I can't. Only the Hokage or a Jònin can do that. If Natsumi knew she could tell you according to the law, but even she is unaware of It." he explained ending the conversation.

With the end of that particular conversation they put their hands together and said. "itadakimasu" before beginning to eat. Kenshin took a bite of noodles paused then began wolfing down the contents of his bowl. Alex just watched him finish his bowl before holding it out for seconds, which Alex gave him and he downed that too and was on his third, before Alex had even finished his first. By the fourth bowl he slowed down and finally stopped setting his chopsticks atop the bowl and pushing it away.

"I should come by for dinner more often." Kenshin chuckled. "That was even better then my wife's cooking and I find hers the best." He paused a moment before adding. "Please don't tell her is said that."

Alex finished his second bowl and glanced at the now empty pot, at least there wouldn't be any leftovers. "While I thank you for the complement, I think it's time you tell me what you came and I know it wasn't the food." He said turning his full attention to Kenshin.

"No, I did not. I want to ask if you want to company me to the Land of Iron." At Alex's surprised look he elaborated. "Tenten or Aiko would usually be the ones to accompany me, but Tenten graduates this year, and she'll have her hands full with her new team. And Aiko is needed to man the shop, business is too heavy at the moment to even consider closing for a few weeks and my attention is needed in the Land of Iron. So what do you say?"

Alex thought about it. While it would ruin a lot of his plans for training this summer, it would also be a good chance to experience the world outside his village before he became a Genin. "I accept. When do we leave?"

Kenshin smiled. "Wonderful! We'll leave a few days after Academy ends."

There was little more than idle talk after that and Kenshin left soon afterwards. Alex went to sleep that night excited for summer to begin. Too bad it was still two months away.

 **A/N and there's another chapter down. Only two more till canon starts. I'm working on how i present the names of things and their translations, so advice is welcome. If I can't get it though I might just go full English. As always have yourself a great day and I'll see you next time. (Usual disclaimers here.)**


	7. Chapter 6

**The Strength of Blood**

 **Chapter Six: The Land of Iron**

The end of year Academy exams came and went, with Alex barely scraping by on the Genjutsu exams. They threw a party for Tenten after graduation and it was a night of laughter and fun, but that all disappeared when she came home from her first team practice. She refused to talk about it, while often muttering about bushy eyebrows and at odd times would say the word 'youthful' before slamming her head into the nearest solid object.

They were unable to discern the cause this strange turn in character before they had to leave, which led to Alex's current situation. He was being hugged goodbye by Yoshino even as she tried to get him to stay. Apparently without his or Shikamaru's knowledge, she'd planned for Alex to spend the summer with them at their family retreat. They didn't know when they would go again since Alex and Shikamaru graduated next year and their schedules would often conflict with Shikaku's, making them unable to go as a family. Alex had only come to say goodbye and now he felt kind of bad, if he'd know he might have refused Kenshin's offer. He might not show it often, but he really liked spending time with Shikamaru and his family. Unfortunately it was too late and all Alex could do was apologize, while trying to make it up to her. "I won't be gone the entire summer, just a month or so and I promise to stop by as soon as I get back." He said stepping back and waved goodbye to Shikamaru before leaving.

Yoshino watched him go with a frown. There was a reason she was being stubborn, she was worried about Alex leaving the Village. The road to the Land of Iron was quite dangerous and this sort of trip would usually be classed as a mid C-Rank mission. Only the fact he was traveling with Kenshin Yamada a renowned Smith and Samurai back in the day, brought some ease to her mind. While that would scare away some of the danger it would also be the cause of some of it, but she was confident Kenshin would keep an eye on him.

"Don't worry about him mom." Shikamaru drawled from next to her. "Troublesome though he might be, Alex is strong. If I had to rate him via strength in class, I would rank him top of the class and that's just with what I've observed."

That brought a raised eyebrow from Yoshino "And you think the teacher wouldn't have noticed this?" While she had little doubt he son was right, she still wanted to hear his thought process.

Shikamaru sighed. "He's not as guarded around me as he is the teachers and our other classmates" he then returned inside with his mother following soon after planning to wring some more answers out of her son.

He met Kenshin by the front gates of the Village. Kenshin wore a white umanori hakama, zori and white tabi with a backpack slung over his shoulders and a katana at his waist.

He'd told Alex that this is what he preferred to travel in. to be honest he'd actually been surprised that Kenshin knew how to use a sword and when he brought it up Kenshin laughed. "Were do you think Tenny got her love of weapons or who taught her how to use them?"

Alex waited till they were day away from the village before changing out of his usual garb and into what he'd planned on saving till he graduated, but this trip made him bring it out earlier than planned. He wore dark mesh armor under a black vest with Anbu style pants tucked into combat boots he'd had to special order, with matching armguards, shin-guards and fingerless gloves. He still had a Kunai holder on each thigh and a new utility belt around his waist, the one difference being this one was styled and had Scroll loops along the front. His entire outfit had dark purple accents. His camping and traveling gear were stowed in two scrolls in his pack and several other Scrolls containing survival gear, spare equipment, extra Kunai, Shuriken, etc. Where sealed into a Seal on his left bicep. He had another Seal on his right bicep that he could use to replace what he was wearing with civilian clothes and then switch back if needed.

It took them three days to reach the border and Kenshin explained a few rules about Iron. "Testu no Kuni is neutral, so if we see Ninja from another Village no hostile action can be taken, even Ninja from Iwa. We can fight back if attacked, but no picking any fights. Unfortunately you won't be able to train either, another one of their rules."

Sighing Alex nodded. He knew Iron was neutral and he would have to play nice which he had no problem with, but the fact he couldn't train was new and it threw a wrench in his planes to see if Kenshin wanted to spar with him. Learning how to fight someone with a blade would be invaluable, especially if he crossed paths with any Kumo Ninja in the future. At least he brought Mito's books so he could continue to learn Fùinjutsu.

They crossed the border no problem and Kenshin regaled him with stories about his time as a samurai, but kept a close eye about him. Alex followed his lead and commented occasionally if the need arose.

The temperature started to dip the further they went into Iron Country and quickly turned into snow. "I always forget how cold it is here" Kenshin muttered, his breath now visible in the cold air. He then grinned at Alex, while making a show of adjusting his winter cloak "How's your first taste of the cold and snow?"

"I've been in snow before, it's why I started wearing boots and don't think I didn't notice that you didn't warn me about the cold." Alex glared adjusting his own cloak. "Now can we hurry up, you said we'd get there today"

"Eh, grouchy. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Waking up I had no problem with, doing it with a face full of snow on the other hand. No so much." On the morning of their second day, Kenshin had tried to wake him and he'd reacted instinctively by giving him a hard kick in the stomach. Since then he'd made a game out of trying to wake Alex up. This morning had been his most recent success, a face full of snowballs. Even though he was already a light sleeper, this trip was making it worse which might have been Kenshin's goal in the first place.

The trip from Konoha to the capital of Iron took a week and a half. As a Ninja Alex could have made it in half the time, but Kenshin was a Samurai and they weren't trained to run for long periods of time, not to mention having slow down to a civilian pace once they crossed the border. After passing the main gates Kenshin left to immediately start his business, leaving Alex to his own devices. They were to meet up at a local hotel; Kenshin didn't really know how long his business would last so he'd booked a room with two beds for the month just in case. That gave him the entire day to explore the Capital of Iron. For the most part Alex just wandered, walking down broad crowded streets or exploring back alleyways, even wandering into random shops.

It was coming out of a shop selling Fùinjutsu supplies that he found himself in the middle of a confutation between three Leaf Ninja and one unknown Kunoichi. He recognized the Leaf Ninja as Genin who just graduated this last year. "Your Grandfather killed my dad and Kenchi's mom!" the Leaf-Nin in front pointed to the guy on his left, while stepping into the Kunoichi's personal space. Either he didn't notice the way she was coiled ready to strike like a snake or he was an idiot.

"And your Hokage brutally killed hundreds of our Ninja." The Kunoichi snapped back. "It was war and people died on both sides, you think you're the only one who's lost something?" she was doing a remarkable job at keeping her temper, unlike her counterpart.

"Why you…"

Alex had heard enough and stepped in-between them and physical shoved them apart, effectively cutting of whatever else he was going to say. "That's enough!" The Leaf-Nin glared at him, but the Kunoichi looked surprised. Getting a better look he saw she was a Rock-Nin from Iwa. Well crap, he's just stepped in to help a Rock-Nin. What were the chances he'd accidently step into help someone from a Village that his absolutely hated, though it did explain why the Leaf-Nin were so worked up. "This is neutral ground; I don't care what her grandfather did. I will not allow you to cause an incident between the Konoha and Tetsu no Kuni." He then turned to the Rock-Nin. "And I don't think Iwa would appreciated that either."

The leader amongst the Genin was about to saw something but was cut off when Kenchi put a hand on his shoulder and nodded to a group of Samurai that was watching them closely, all of them were clutching the hilts of their kattanas. Muttering a soft curse he stepped back away from Alex's outstretched hand. "Fine you make your point, but don't think we'll forget this. The names Zan, this is Kenchi and this is Tomi." He said gesturing to himself, the black haired kid on the left and the brown haired girl on the right. "If we ever see you again Rock girl your dead." And with that they turned around and stalked off.

Alex lowered his arms and nodded to the Samurai Captain who nodded back, before moving off down the street.

"I hope you don't expect a 'Thank You' I could have taken them on by myself." The Rock Kunoichi said to him and for the first time he got a good look at her. She had short black hair and pupil-less pink eyes that are accentuated by her eyelashes running upward at the corners. She wore the Iwa-nin standard red uniform, with her right sleeve missing and a lapel over her left leg, with fishnet tights and a skirt over them. She also wears regular Shinobi sandals and a pair of gloves.

"That is neither here nor there. I don't think Your Tsuchikage would appreciate one if his his Ninja straining Iwa's relation to Testu no Kuni."

"I guess you're right, but what does it matter to you? You're not from Iwa."

"It matters very little to me. I just wanted to stop a few of my soon to be fellow Leaf-Nin from making fools of themselves and causing trouble."

"Soon to be fellow Leaf-Nin." she repeated him. "That means you're an Academy student still. It's pretty gutsy of you to stand in the middle of seasoned Genin, or you're just an idiot."

"Call me what you will, I don't really care and as for seasoned Genin." Alex scoffed. "The three that were just here could barely be call such; they only graduated this last year. As for you I can't say."

"Want to find out?" at seeing his raised eyebrow she elaborated. "My father's off doing business and I could use a distraction. I promise no kill shots." She said smirking.

Alex frowned. "I can't tell if your serous or not, but it doesn't really matter. I'm sure your father explained the rules here before you crossed the border."

Her smirk grew wider. "Your smarter then you look, you might actually be fun. What's your name?"

"Alexander"

"I'm Kurotsuchi."

"Well Kurotsuchi, while it's been nice meeting you I have to get going." He waved goodbye to her and disappeared into the crowd. " _Well that was weird, never thought I'd meet a semi-friendly Iwa-Nin here. Not to mention defend her against Genin from my own Village. What a strange day._ " Alex thought.

After that he found exploring kind of dull, but still enjoyed it enough to continue till night, where he met Kenshin at the 'Wandering Samurai' how appropriate for the name of the hotel Kenshin had rented a room at.

"How was your day exploring the Capital?" Kenshin asked as they lay in bed.

"Not bad, met an Iwa Kunoichi and stopped a couple of Leaf-Nin from making fools out of themselves. Yours?"

Kenshin gave him strange look. "Not to good, I think I may have stepped on some others toes somewhere along the line, because while my usual suppliers are happy to continue shipping. Some people have been raising a fuss about me selling my forged goods from their materials in a Ninja Village. So I'm being stonewalled at the moment." He glanced once more towards Alex about to ask more about the Iwa Kunoichi only to find him already sleep, which he could only blame himself for. He'd hardly let the kid sleep the entire trip. Being a really light sleeper would help him greatly in the future. Rolling over he closed his eyes and followed Alex into sleep.

The day's drug on as Kenshin tried to secure his supplies for the next few years. They found out who was attempting to block him though. A man by the name of Funji Sata. Kenshin had explained to Alex that Funji had been a rival of his for years and had always tried to get the better of him. Kenshin had been the better Samurai back when the both served together, causing Funji no small amount of jealousy. Afterward he retired and went on to become a world class smith, while Funji tried to worm his way into power and it looked like he'd finely succeed and was adamant about causing Kenshin as much grief as possible. Pulling every trick in the book to postpone and stonewall him.

Their two maybe three week trip had at this point gone a month and a half and Alex found himself getting antsy. Without the ability to train he focused primarily on Fùinjutsu, he met Kurotsuchi a few more times and every time she'd ask about that spar. Alex didn't know if she was just trying to get him in trouble or if she really wanted to spar. Unfortunately though she had to leave before he did, but she didn't go without saying they would be having that match in the future. Despite their two countries hating one another Alex found himself looking forward to it.

It was two full months before Kenshin managed to get everything squared away. Even after he'd called in a favor and had Funji investigated and subsequently removed for several discovered accounts of corruption and Illegal dealings, Funji had made sure to have the last laugh and left a mountain of paperwork that needed to be gone through before they could get back to Kenshin.

After all that, once everything was signed and stamped they were on their way back to Konoha. At this point they'd spent most of the summer in Iron and the Academy would be started up again in a couple weeks. At least the summer wasn't an entire bust; all that time devoted to Fùinjutsu had jumped him ahead to level Six.

However their journey, while coming to a close, was still far from over.

They had just gotten a mile or so passed the border sign when Alex sensed them. Three figures were following them in the trees."Uh, Kenshin." He whispered quietly, barely moving his mouth.

"I know, they've been following us for some time now. Waiting for us to cross the border no doubt." he replied in the same way.

"What do we do?"

"Well if their just bandits they might decide were too much trouble and go away."

"And if they're not? What happens then?"

"Well I…MOVE!" Kenshin shoved Alex one way and jumped the other. A hail of shuriken struck the ground where they were standing.

Using the momentum of the push Alex rolled back to his feet. Kunai in hand, he followed the path of the shuriken. There in the trees now stood four men, three stood with their faces bare, but the forth had his rapped in a balaclava. " _There are four! I can't even sense the fourth, even now that I'm looking right at him_ " he thought before catching sight of the forehead protector he was wearing and cursed. It was from the Village Hidden in the Mist and it had a long scratch through it which meant he was a Missing-Nin.

"Alex, Run!" Kenshin now had his sword drawn and held at the ready.

Alex stepped up next to him. "Not a chance in hell." See Kenshin about to argue Alex spoke overtop him. "Now's not the time to argue Kenshin. You may be good, but it's still four on one. At least this way it's four on two."

No more words could be shared. One attacked Alex, while the other three went after Kenshin. Who had to immediately retreat into the trees. They followed leaving Alex and his opponent alone. The man was tall bald and muscular and his voice was gruff. "Hey kid we're not here for you, make this easy and I'll kill you quickly." Seeing Alex drop into a stance he laughed. "So be it, but I should warn you I've been trained by a Ninja in their arts. What chance does a kid like you have?"

"Who knows, why don't you come find out."

And he did, charging Alex. As he threw a punch Alex sidestepped and parried the blow, before leaping to account for the height difference and slamming his elbow into the man's nose and followed it up with a kick to the chest.

Stumbling back the man held his bleeding nose "Why you brat. I'm going to kill you nice a slowly for that." he charged again and they began trading blows.

Alex was smaller and more agile, but he was bigger and stronger. " _My punches aren't strong enough to be of much use against this guy, I'll have to rely on my kicks and throws._ " Alex blocked a wild haymaker only for him to be kicked in the stomach. Righting himself in mid air he landed back on his feet. " _Scratch that, he can block all my kicks and he seems to know enough not to leave himself open to throws. Looks like I'll have to step it up._ " he brought his hands together and started forming hand-seals. " **Bunshin no Jutsu** " he called as several clones appeared and charged.

"What? How?" His opponent panicked and took a swipe at a nearby clone, only for his fist to go right through. "They're just Illusions" he figured it out, but that was all the time Alex needed to finish another set of hand-seals.

" **Fuuton: Daitoppa** " Alex exhaled sending a blast of wind at his opponent. Sending him crashing threw one tree and into the one behind it. Alex finished up with a handful of shuriken, pinning him. Alex made sure he was knocked out before following after Kenshin and his attackers; he'd wasted enough time as it was.

What he found wasn't good. Two more of their attackers lay dead and around them was a radius of destruction. And in its center Kenshin sat with his back against what used to be a tree, but now ended just a few inches above his head. In front of him stood the leader of their attackers with his long almost needle like sword to Kenshin's throat. Kenshin was in bad shape; he was deathly pale and was holding his side. Alex could clearly see the blood seeping through his fingers. But he was still breathing and it was time he kept it that way. He threw a couple shuriken at him knowing he would dodge and he did, giving Alex enough time to grab Kenshin and leap to a safe distance.

"Alex!… your ok." Kenshin breathed as Alex leaned him against another tree a safe distance away.

Alex was actually a little offended. "Well ya, my fight wasn't too hard, although you look to have the tougher opponent. Oh well, you wore him down, let's see if I can finish him."

Kenshin grabbed his arm. "He's too strong for you, you won't stand a chance."

"Well you better rest quickly or else we're both dead." Alex said removing Kenshin's hand and turning to face his next opponent.

"Be careful he can redirect his sword mid-flight with the wire at the handle." Kenshin called after him.

Raising a hand in acknowledgement Alex went to meet his match, but hopefully not his death.

"That was nice of you to let us finish talking." Alex commented coming to a stop a few feet from his opponent.

"Well you're going to die anyway, what are a few more moments." The man's voice was slick and oily.

"Are you sure? Kenshin almost kicked your ass and that was with three against one. I don't have to beat you; I just have to stall you. So shall we begin?"

Alex had the feeling the man was smirking at him behind the balaclava. "Yes, lets." They clashed, sword against Kunai. Alex was quickly pushed back. Flipping the Kunai around in his hand he tried again this time with one in each hand, but was rebuffed again and again and again. Each time they broke apart Alex had a few more nicks from his blade.

Alex would fall back get his bearings then try again, with the same result. This guy was way above his level and the fact Alex hadn't practiced all summer was beginning to show. " _This isn't working_ " he thought begin thrown back yet again. The man was obviously playing with him. As if to accentuate the point, the man dipped his sword and slashed across his right thigh. Jumping away he fell to one knee clutching his leg. The wound wasn't deep, but it was bleeding profusely.

"You have heart small-fry, but unfortunately I can't play with you forever so I'll offer you a deal." He stuck his sword in the ground and leaned on it lazily. "You have skill and a lot of untapped potential. So how about you let me kill the man I'm being paid to and I'll let you tag along with me, I can teach you a thing or two. Well how about it?"

Getting to his feet Alex reached into his pack and grabbed a bandage, quickly wrapping it around his leg. "Sorry, but I'll have to pass. Seeing those three who work for you reveals a thing or two about you." He paused for a minute before adding in an afterthought. "Well that and I like the other guy better then you, nothing personal."

The man just laughed. "Kid despite myself, I like you. Well it that's your final answer lets end this." Yanking his sword from the ground he leveled it at Alex.

" _Ok no more buying time._ " Alex thought. He'd been using the Academy Style to fight both offensively and defensively, which was good for buying time, but terrible for winning a fight and it looked like his only shot at walking out of this one was to go for the win against a superior opponent. " _Well here go's nothing._ " Sliding down into his 'White Tiger Style' this was it, after this there was no going back to the Academy Style even when attended the Academy. From now on he would use his Style.

He started by throwing kunai his right hand, while at the same time throwing the one in his left up behind him. He then grabbed a hand full of shuriken and throwing them, before taking off at a full sprint. He held nothing back punches, kicks, grapples, he threw everything he had.

"Now this is a surprise. Such ferocity, like a predator attacking its prey. However, you mistake who the predator really is." Spinning his blade he ducked a kick and stabbed Alex right threw the chest. "You lose."

Alex smiled. "You sure about that?" and burst into smoke leaving a log in his place.

" **Suiton: Teppoudama** "

The Jutsu's name was the only warning he had. Spinning around just in time to Simi-block a blast of water, he then quickly threw his sword at Alex. Who deftly dodged, only for him to tug on the wire trailing from the hilt of the sword redirecting it towards him again. This time Alex couldn't dodge and was nailed to a tree, only to once again puff into smoke leaving another log behind. This time he was ready and was already turning to meet and block the kick coming his way. They once more traded a few blows, but unlike before he no longer had his sword, which put them in a Taijutsu only battle. For the first time since they'd begun Alex found himself finally being able to give a little back now that his opponent no longer had his sword, but his window was closing fast he had to finish this fast.

Blocking a wild haymaker Alex gave a swift jab to the Missing-Nin's exposed ribs. Bringing both arms back the Missing-Nin tried a dual palm strike to create some distance. Stepping in Alex parried both arms too one side creating an opening once again. Cocking back an arm to deliver another attack, Alex had to duck a roundhouse kick. Unfortunately for the Missing-Nin this left his entire left side open to attack and Alex wasn't going to miss this chance. Stepping in closer, arm outstretched the Nin watched as an kunai fell from the sky right into his outstretched hand and with him being completely open, he had no way to stop Alex from driving it right in-between his ribs, before yanking the knife free and delivered a swift kick to the wound he'd just created, sending the man crashing to the floor.

He tried to stand once more, but couldn't. Falling back to his hands and knees he pulled his balaclava over his chin and started coughing up blood. Alex had most likely punctured a lung. "Well damn, I survive a Civil War and manage to steal one of the Seven Swords out from under the new Kage's nose, only to be killed by you. Not by my target, but by you." pushing himself up, he set back on his heels as Alex crouched down leveling their gaze, ice-blue against dark gray. "If you're waiting for me to beg, I won't. I tossed my dice and lose." He dissolved into a brief coughing fit, bringing up more blood, staining the ground and running down his chin. "You've shown yourself to have the training of a Shinobi, but do you have the heart for it?"

Alex understood what he was asked, but hesitated. "Before we find out, you mentioned someone hired you. Who was it?"

"I guess it doesn't really matter if I tell you or not since I've already been paid in full and my benefactor now resides in a prison cell." Pausing to spit out another mouthful of blood he continued. "Funji Sata was his name and as I understand it you friend was the one responsible for putting him there."

"Thank you." Tightening his grip around his Kunai and brought it in a slashing motion across the Missing-Nin's throat. With the deed done the Missing-Nin just smiled and nodded, before his eyes glazed over and he toppled backwards. Alex let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This may not have been his first kill, but whereas the other was an accident beyond his control. This one was his choice. Abruptly remembering Kenshin, Alex removed and sealed the Missing-Nin's head into a scroll that he then fastened to his belt. Most Missing-Nin had bounties posted for them by their Villages and since he'd mentioned stealing one of the Seven Swords of Mist. Alex would bet his bounty was pretty high. Speaking of said sword, Alex yanked it out of the tree it was embedded into. Being one of the Seven Swords made it too valuable to leave behind. Rolling his mesh sleeve up his arm, Alex exposed his forearm and quickly drew a Seal Array onto it, before Sealing the sword inside and tugging his sleeve back down. With the head and sword taken care of, he quickly searched the body and found a scroll containing the man's payment. There was no sense in letting it go to waste. Flipping through hand-seals. " **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** " he exhaled a large blue fireball incinerating the body of the Missing-Nin. It was standard procedure when dealing with them.

He found Kenshin right where he left him. Dropping to his side Alex began to tend to his wounds now that the danger had passed.

As soon as he laid hands on him, Kenshin gave a start. "Easy there Kenshin, it's just me"

"Alex, what happened? Where's the Missing-Nin?" Kenshin's voice was weak and his skin pale. He must have lost a lot of blood.

Alex held out his hands placating him. "The Missing-Nin is dead and now I'd like to tend to the wound in your side if you'd let me."

"Oh, right, sorry." Kenshin removed his hand from his side and letting Alex pull open his shirt to examine the wound fully. It didn't look good. It looked like the Missing-Nin hand stabbing him in the side and then ripped to the side, opening a deep gash. "I don't suppose you know any Medical Ninjutsu do you?"

"Unfortunately I don't, but it would be a worthwhile skill to learn this year. I've already learned the Academy Jutsu's after all. Now hold still, I'm going to have to clean and cauterize the wound." All Academy students were taught field first aid. Cauterizing a wound was a last resort. Not only was it painful, but also could damage the nerve tissue and muscle around the wound.

"That's right I forgot Tenny was teaching you them in exchange for helping her with Fùinjutsu." At this point Kenshin was just trying to distract himself from what Alex was about to do. "You know, an Academy year isn't very long. Especially for someone trying to learn something as precise and demanding as Medical Ninjutsu."

"True." Alex said as he channeled fire Chakra into his hand. "But I don't have to learn everything at once; I'll have my whole career to practice it. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Elemantal Ninjutsu, Medical Ninjustu and Fùinjutsu. Trying to master all these Arts takes time. Most practice two or three, but I'm learning all of them at once. I'm not going to master anything overnight, neither would I want to." Using one hand to help hold Kenshin still he pressed his hand against the wound searing it closed. To Kenshin's credit he did little more than groan at the pain. With the more concerning wound taken care of he turned his attention to his arm, which Alex hadn't noticed was injured at first glance. Again he cleaning the wound, this one wasn't as bad so he stitched it close with a needle and thread from his pack. Once done he then wrapped it in bandages before making a makeshift sling by cutting a strip out of Kenshin's hakama.

After returning Kenshin's sword to him from where it was laying off to one side, Alex helped him up and they started the long slow journey of two injured men home.

"Well this has been quite the adventure hasn't it?" Kenshin asked wryly.

"The adventures not over till your home safe and sound." Alex said shaking his head.

Kenshin nodded conceding the point. "At least it'll be quite the story huh?"

"Ya, two months burned in Iron and then ambushed on the way home because someone was a sore loser." Alex said sarcastically. "But look on the bright side, I bet Aiko and Tenten will be thrilled to hear about it. You were the one who said it would be perfectly safe for me to tag along after all."

Kenshin hung his head as they hobbled along. "You don't suppose they'll understand that it was completely out of my control and leave it at that?" at Alex's look he sighed. "I didn't think so."

The continued on in silence for a time before Kenshin spoke up again. "What are the chances of you being there to help smooth things over?"

"Nonexistent, I'll be busy dealing with Yoshino."

"Damn."

"Yep."

 **A/N. well another chapter down. I'm not sure my fight scenes are Naruto enough so suggestions are welcome. Well until next time, Cya. (Usual declaimers here)**


End file.
